The Bosnia Incident
by Ambrosia Rush
Summary: Callen and Kensi never spoke about The Bosnia Incident. They hid it in their reports, but now Granger is sending them back to finish what they started, and how will the team react when they find out the full version?
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to The Bosnia Incident. If you haven't read Shenanigans! as well as Blood and Bone, I suggest you read them first otherwise you'll likely be very confused. **

**As for the tag- as I'm sure I'll get the question- no this isn't a Callen/Kensi pairing but they will be the two lead characters in it and that's why I chose them. Ever evolving Densi and Nallen pairings.**

**Enjoy :)**

::

Kensi came in early, she needed to talk to Callen. The young agent knew that at eight hundred hours Eric and Nell would be starting their shift, and it was highly probable that Callen would have come in with his girlfriend. She walked into the bullpen expecting to see the Senior Agent-In-Charge there, his seat was empty but his work bag was propped up against his desk so she knew he was around somewhere.

She tossed her bag down beside her desk and took quick strides toward the firing range in search for Callen, but he wasn't there. "Damn it Callen," she muttered to herself. She looked in the gym and short of checking in the mens locker room she looked everywhere on the lower level. Figuring he might be up in the Ops centre she headed back but found him walking with purpose down the hallway she opened her mouth to greet him but he grabbed her arm and continued walking. "Callen? What the hell?" She stumbled trying to keep up with his powerful strides.

He pulled her through the gym doors and into the mens locker room. He let her go and checked out the place before reaching past her and locking the door. "Granger wanted a word with me when I got in," Callen kept his back turned away from her and he ran both hands over his head in a frustrated gesture, one in which she'd never seen him use. "We're on for Bosnia."

"Oh," Kensi replied quietly, "well, we knew it was coming."

"You know how our Technical Operators, and more importantly in this case our Intelligence Analysts get the cases and start working them before we do." He turned to face her, a faint hand print on his face, it was only eight fifteen and Callen already looked at the end of his leash.

Kensi swallowed hard. "How much did Granger give Nell?" It must have been bad for Nell to physically have hit Callen.

Callen let out a laugh that held no humour, "she didn't say anything, I don't even know what she saw, I went to the OPS centre right after I got out of Granger's office... she just saw me, walked right up and slapped me."

Kensi closed her eyes for a moment trying to get her bearings, "we'll get through this."

He turned back to look at her, studied the worry written all over her face. She was blinking back tears and he pulled himself back in, put all emotions on lock-down. She was the only one he could talk to about The Bosnia Incident, the only one who knew, but for him to go on like it was only about him... no, he could tell she was hurting and he wasn't helping. "Sorry Kens, you're right... we'll get through this."

"We... we should get back before-"

A click of a lock and Deeks pulled the door open, "oh..." He caught sight of the two agents standing face to face in the mens locker room as he stood a little stunned with lock picks in his hand. "Um... you two are wanted for briefing... and who did what to make Nell so ticked?" Deeks shot a look at Callen, "I detect it was you."

"The hand print on my face does make for good evidence," Callen retorted walking past the two and leaving the gym with angry strides.

Deeks shuffled his feet a little awkwardly, "so... the ladies locker room... is undergoing repairs?"

She couldn't find it in herself to come up with a quick one liner, "come on," she walked past him, her arm barely grazing his, his hand clamped down on her wrist effectively stopping her, "Deeks."

His hand made the journey up her arm to a hand print on her arm, she followed his gaze, "who did this?"

"Callen," she responded he'd been furious and he hadn't meant to hurt her, and he hadn't not really, it was just a little red. Deeks's jaw clenched angrily and he looked at the doors that their team leader had walked through. "He's having a rough time, don't be mad at him Marty."

"You're defending him," Deeks looked incredulous.

"Of course, he didn't hurt me, if you hadn't pointed it out I wouldn't have even noticed."

He studied her, and there was a lack of her usual spark, it worried him. "You're head isn't in it," Deeks noted, "what's wrong Kens?"

Eric poked his head in, "guys, come on! Granger and Callen are in a glare off and I swear their combined hatred is about thirty seconds away from making this place spontaneously combust."

"Coming," Kensi responded pulling her hand from her partner's grasp and following Eric out of the room.

::

"About time you two got here," Granger said adjusting his tie. "We're late, we need to get this moving, a NCIS plane is set to take you all to Bosnia in less than forty minutes."

"Perhaps then it would be best to do the full brief on the plane," Hetty suggested. "After all they still have to grab their go-bags and get to the air strip."

Callen was hardly listening, his eyes were on Nell, and her eyes were anywhere but him. She couldn't seriously blame him for something he'd done so many years ago, years before they had ever even met? Could she? Then again, he'd been around for some of Michelle and Sam's arguments, and Michelle could find something Sam had done back before they'd even been engaged and use it to get the upper hand.

"Fine, since you're taking your Intelligence Analyst with you," Granger muttered after a long moment.

"What?" Nell finally snapped to attention and looked at the Assistant Director, surely he couldn't be serious! Sure, she'd gone and assisted on a couple of missions, but they'd been within LA and she'd been completely out of harms way... and if any harm had come... She risked a glance at Callen who was standing in a ridged stance glaring at Granger.

"She'll be more effective here," Callen argued.

"She'll be more effective where I say she will be." Granger crossed his arms, "don't argue with me Special Agent Callen or I will suspend your ass, especially given your recent... indiscretions." Of course Granger would hold the shooting of two men (in the knee caps) while trying to get Deeks and Kensi out of a bad situation over his head. The man had no idea what it was like to be in the field. To have the agents you are responsible for become a punching bag much less a target.

Callen knew he had to back down and risked a look to Nell, she was flustered- which was not a word he ever put with her before. It worried him. She looked over to him and bit her lip, not looking away. He mouthed, 'I'll keep you safe.' A fleeting smile found her face before she turned away.

"Miss Jones, you are to keep Beale updated on _everything _that goes on in Bosnia," Granger invaded her personal space and Callen took an unintentional step toward the two.

"Understood," she bit back angrily not liking this one bit.

"Good," Granger checked his watch, "you all have thirty-two minutes, get moving."

::

"G?"

"For the seventh time Sam, _I am fine_."

"You obviously are forgetting who it is you are talking to," Sam argued easily grabbing his go bag from his locker and shutting the metal with a clank. "You are not fine, you got slapped, Granger is sending us back on a mission that you and Kensi went on but have never spoken about-"

"It was an undercover operation, of course we didn't talk about it," his voice came out quick and angry, he let out a long breath as he opened his locker and grabbed his go-bag. "Look... we have to brief on the plane... you'll understand then Sam."

"No forewarning for me then?" Sam was worried about his partner, it took a lot to rile Callen but this case already had and when Granger had decided to throw Nell into the mix, Sam had been afraid Callen would go postal on the Assistant Director.

Callen adjusted the duffle bag on his shoulder before walking and assuming that his partner would keep up, "no forewarning is going to make it better."

::

"You okay?" Eric asked once Granger, Hetty and the field team had left.

"I'm going to Bosnia," Nell needed to say it out loud, hopefully it would get her through the shock, "I'm going to Bosnia."

"You slapped Callen," Eric had to say it out loud for the same reasons as Nell, because the shock of his little partner storming over to the Special Agent-In-Charge and striking him... it was still boggling his mind. "You just... slapped him."

"I... I freaked."

"Are you less freaked now?"

"No... but... at least on that plane he will have no where to go when I interrogate him," Nell responded with a look of determination and wounded pride. "I'll keep you updated."

"And I'll keep the free flow of information from here... you got this Nell."

She hugged Eric tightly, "I'll see you when we all get back."

He noted her choice of words and chose not to comment, "see you then."

::

"So..." Deeks opened his locker, Kensi already had her bag but stuck close to him and that on it's own told Deeks that something was up. "Bosnia huh?" Deeks liked LA... never strayed far from it... Prague was the biggest stray, he supposed it was time to get use to travel after all he was no longer LAPD Detective. He was LAPD/ NCIS Liaison for the Office of Special Projects, these projects seemed to require occasional travel. "What's it like?"

Kensi gave a non-committed shrug, "Sarajevo, the capital is fairly nice now... got spruced up after the Bosnian War for independence."

"Sounds like that was read off Wikipedia," Deeks noted trying to get a rise out his partner. He was left disappointed when Kensi simply shrugged again and fiddled with the zipper on her bag. He swallowed hard, "what languages to they speak?"

"Uh, Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian," Kensi responded.

"Which do you speak?"

"None, well... I understand some Serbian... enough to know when the bullets are about to start flying," Kensi felt like an ice cube had just slid down her spine and shuddered. "Callen speaks Serbian fluently... I... I was still a probationary agent," she looked up at her partner, "it was suppose to be a... get in, get the information and get out assignment, Sam's expertise were needed by another team so he wasn't there. Callen was my training agent, he thought it would be a good way to get some travel time on me, some real field experience... and since it was such a small job... he couldn't see the harm in it just being the two of us."

Deeks studied his partner, their rela-partner-partnership had been developing over the past few months, strengthening and around each other neither felt the need to put up their walls. "What went wrong?"

He touched her arm just barely but she flinched and looked up at him with haunted dark eyes, "a lot."

He grabbed both her shoulders carefully his hands rubbed up and down her arms, "I'm here for you Kensi, you know that, right?"

"You remember when you didn't want to tell me about... your mom," she looked up at him and lost her courage and looked back down again, "you were afraid I'd laugh about the post card... I'm the one afraid now," her voice was nothing more that a whisper and he had to lean in to hear, "I don't want you to... to look at me different."

"Kens..."

Sam walked in quickly and held the door open. "Come on you two we got to get moving."

Deeks watched as the emotions slipped off of Kensi's face and got locked back into her little box. She straightened her spine and turned away from her partner, "right behind you Sam." Deeks followed behind Sam and Kensi and wondered just what the hell happened in Bosnia.


	2. Chapter 2

**First off, I'm so happy that the first chapter was so well received and I was thrilled with the reviews it got so thank you!**

**Secondly, I have never travelled to Bosnia- so everything here has been researched any mistakes (and I'm sure there are many) are mine. **

::

They had been in the air for ten minutes but Nell had yet to relinquish the death grip she had on the leather upholstery of her seat within the NCIS aircraft. "First time flying?" Sam asked her. There were eight seats, four on one side of the isle, four on the other, two facing two and Sam was across from the youngest member of the team who was looking like she'd swallowed a bug.

"No," she responded after a moment, "but it doesn't mean I have to like it," she breathed through it like she always did and shut the blind since she was sitting at the window seat. Deeks and Kensi were on the other side of the isle and Callen had gone to the back section. She watched him walk back out of the back room and the sliding door clinked shut behind him.

He walked past the lounge area and sat down beside her rooting through the small bag he'd retrieved before passing her a pack of Gravol, "you look like you need it."

"What is that suppose to mean?" she growled at him and he sighed leaving it on her lap and walking back to the couch in the lounge area and flopping down there. She looked over at Sam, "do I really look that bad?"

"That wasn't what G meant," Sam soothed. Callen was a good man, though he did need a bit of work in the emotions department, and Sam believed Nell was more than up for the job. Sam could already see the slight changes in his partner. "You're white knuckling it" Sam pointed to her fingers and she loosened her grip. "And you're looking a little pale." Sam sighed, "he's just worried about you, although G rarely would say so in quite so many words."

"Is that your way of saying I was harsh?" She looked up at him from under a thick line of lashes. She didn't want to hurt Callen, she liked Callen- a considerable amount... but the file, the documents... the picture. It wasn't exactly making her feel secure in her fledgling relationship.

"I'm saying G cares, and he's trying... both are uncharted waters for him."

Nell looked back over to Callen who was now joined by a stoic looking Kensi. Nell looked over at Deeks and motioned him over.

Deeks looked back to Kensi and Callen before sitting down beside Sam, "yeah?"

"What do you guys know about their mission in Bosnia?" Nell took the pill Callen had given her for the nausea he'd been right in assuming she was feeling, and it left a chalky taste in her mouth.

"Kens said..." Deeks was worried about betraying his partners confidence but since there wasn't that much to say he forged on. "She said that Callen was her training agent when she was still a probationary agent and that they went together to Bosnia for an information gathering operation...and... things went south."

"You know anything Sam?" Nell asked.

Sam shook his head, "G refused to talk about it, said I'd hear it all in the briefing... the _unedited_ briefing is what he didn't say... something tells me more went on that was in the files Granger had." Sam looked at Nell who was staring at the ceiling, "and you... what was it you seen that you felt the need to slap G?"

She pulled out a folder from her bag and passed it to him, inside was a picture of Kensi, scantily dressed pushing off Callen's shirt. "They must have been on an op," Sam rationalized.

He had seen Callen and Kensi pose as a couple many times, they were both comfortable enough in the role and with each other to make it believable. He looked at the picture briefly, it seemed far to intimate with them staring into each other's eyes to be comfortable looking at. That was his partner and a woman who he looked after like a little sister... it was odd seeing them in such a compromised position. He could see why Nell had gotten riled, but it had taken place years ago.

"Doesn't make me feel better," Nell responded and sighed, "I know... I know that he is an undercover operative and kissing beautiful women to secure a cover is a necessity sometimes and sometimes that woman will be Kensi... but..." She chewed her bottom lip for a minute, "he could have told me," she said quietly, "so I wouldn't have been so surprised when Granger dropped it down in front of me. I was so angry, I didn't even look at the time stamp and when Callen walked in... I lost it."

"A lot of stuff happens on undercover assignments," Sam said shutting the folder, "are you sure you want to continue seeing G in this capacity... he is an agent... this is his job Nell."

"I know..." Nell leaned her head back. When has she become this woman? This woman who didn't look at facts, who's emotions got in a frenzy whenever a specific handsome Special Agent-In-Charge was involved... She'd seen the picture and... they looked right together, this beautiful couple in a very intimate moment. It deflated her confidence, she was a little envious of Kensi; who wouldn't be? Kensi, unintentionally, was the type of woman who made all other women within seeing distance take a hit to their ego; the woman was drop dead gorgeous, legs that go on for miles, curves in all the right places and those long luxurious locks... the comparison to the 'cute,' (she was alway called cute, and cute was not something you wanted to be called at twenty six) shorter than most, (only marginally taller than Hetty) bumps rather than curves, suddenly every flaw she had was forefront in her mind. Now she remembered why she didn't do relationships... she was absolutely terrible in them. "I need to think."

::

Five minutes, it had been five minutes since Kensi had sat down beside him and stared blankly the wall. Callen wasn't faring much better, he liked Nell, he _really _liked her and the thought that after all this she might just... leave him. He rubbed a hand over one of his bullet scars that was close to his heart subconsciously as it flared in phantom pain. "We have to tell them," he said quietly.

Kensi was silent but she nodded just once. Her feelings were all over the place, the speculation was terrible and wrecking havoc on her system. It was better to just rip the bandaid off. Tell them. Tell them now and get on with it. _If he doesn't want to be my partner anymore... fine... okay... I can deal with that... I can. I'll be just fine, I was fine before I met Jason Wyler... I was fine before I found out he was actually Detective Marty Deeks... I was fine before he became my partner, and I'll be just fine if he leaves_. Her mind was trying to reassure her but it was doing little good. "We should," she nodded her head toward where Sam, Nell and Deeks were huddled up.

Callen followed her line of sight, but the only person he saw was Nell the way her eyes were cast skyward and then they closed. "Maybe by the time they're finished the truth won't sound so bad."

"Deeks can surely spin a tale worse right?" Kensi forced a smile but it fell right off her face.

He touched her knee and squeezed, "no matter what, we still have each other to fall back on. I'll be right here if you need me."

She nodded, "back at you."

"I'll go get them," Callen stood.

::

The four field agents and the intelligence analyst sat where the two couches faced each other. Callen and Kensi on one side, Nell, Sam and Deeks on the other.

"So," Nell prodded impatiently, "enlighten us." She hoped it was a simple explanation, but if how Callen and Kensi were acting was any indication she didn't hold much hope.

Callen could hear the underlying anger in her voice, and wanting to deal with it, having the desire to work to make things better between them was something he was entirely unfamiliar with. "We were a newly established team still finding our bearings," he started. "Sam had been my partner for a little over six months... we worked with Renko on occasion, but he was getting tossed around a lot in those days." Callen paused to wet his lips but his mouth was dry. "Sam was working on a joint case with the CIA at the time, and I was working mostly on training our probationary agent," he motioned his head toward Kensi who was sitting leaning forward her hands clasped in her lap, "Kensi." He swallowed hard, "Macy came to me with an op, it was suppose to be simple, not something she even needed two agents on but I insisted I take Kensi with me, she was young, bright but needed some field experience, and some travelling wouldn't hurt, it would be a learning experience," he shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose. His words were so quiet only Kensi heard when he muttered, "I should have just went myself."

"It wasn't your fault Callen," Kensi's voice sparked with an unexpected ferocity. She grabbed his shoulders, "you don't honestly believe... all these years... that Bosnia was your fault?" She searched his eyes and she looked away with tears in her eyes, "it wasn't your fault G, if I hadn't been so green."

He cut her off, "I _knew_ you were green Kensi!" Callen argued back with equal heat and what once had been a conversation to bring others up to date had boiled into old feelings... they had never spoken about Bosnia thinking it would be better for the other person and only now, years later were they both finding out just how wrong they were. "I knew, and I was your training agent, I was suppose to keep you safe, the Bosnia incident was _**my fault**_."

"_No it wasn't_." Kensi argued back with a low but still very strong voice, "it was not your fault."

"What the hell happened?" It was Deeks who brought them back with a puzzled expression on his face.

Kensi sighed, "might as well start at the beginning, no point in half assing it." She thought back to the plane ride, where he'd been teaching her simple Serbian phrases, 'hello,' 'goodbye,' 'I'm going to kill you' things they might actually use... she wet her lips and forced herself to look at her partner, she hadn't exactly been forthcoming in information about herself but he'd given and now she needed to give back. "It all started when we landed in Sarajevo..."

::

_She bit the word 'wow' off the edge of her tongue as she walked through the airport. She'd been with the team for little more than two months and idolized G Callen, the man without a first name, but what he lacked in letters he more than made up for with his undercover work. _

_The man was a legend. Not like a 'legend' like an alias... but a legend and she was his protege when Macy had told her that she'd be learning from G Callen, a man who she'd heard little more than whispers about she'd been thrilled but she crushed her inner girl moment. Above all the men and women with more experience, with more know how she was the one chosen to be on his team. _

_He was the very best and she was going to do everything to memorise every single thing he would be teaching her. She studied how he walked through the airport like he'd been there before, so she asked, "been here before?" _

_He paused at a juncture and took a look around, "yes," he responded after a moment. He purchase a newspaper from a vendor but she couldn't read the words, he caught her staring at it, "Serbian." _

_She recited the words, 'hello,' 'goodbye,' and 'I'm going to kill you.' _

_He looked at her for a moment and she was rewarded with a slight upturn of his lips, in the past two months of her study she'd noted that he didn't smile much, to serious all the time so she was happy she'd managed that much from him. "I wouldn't repeat that last one in here anymore unless you want to get picked up by airport security. I wouldn't help you, I'd just sit back and see if you can get yourself out of it." _

"_Is everything a test with you?" She asked as she fell into stride with him as he shoved the newspaper under his arm and lead her through the airport. _

"_It's my job to prepare you for this job," he said vaguely but she understood, "so yes, everything is a test." _

"_How am I scoring so far?" _

_Callen placed a hand on her elbow and turned her just slightly and let it drop as they walked into luggage claim. Luggage from their flight was on conveyer three and they paused there waiting for her bag he'd packed a small bag that was currently flung over his shoulder that he'd stored in the overhead compartment. He hadn't said she should pack lightly and she wondered briefly if it would have mattered if he had. _

"_This isn't Quanico," he said in a low voice to her, "grades, percentages, averages," he shrugged, "they don't matter." _

_She frowned and looked at him, "then how am I suppose to know how I am doing?" _

_He grabbed her hand and then her wrist putting two of her own fingers over her wrists pulse point. "You're still alive." _

_She swallowed hard and understood that he was trying to warn her of the dangers of the job he let her hands go and grabbed her bright red luggage case. "When we get back," he said setting it down and pulling up the handle, "you're selling, throwing out or burning this thing." _

"_What is wrong with my suitcase?" She demanded, it was a beautiful suitcase, bright with personality, she'd fallen in love when she'd seen it in the store. _

"_It's red," he responded, "bright red. You know what else is bright red? The centre of a target, a laser pointer on your shirt, a-" _

"_Okay, got it," Kensi cut him off, "bright colours are bad." _

_He lead them outside and they waited in a line up for a taxi. "Not always," he resumed his lesson once sure no one was listening. "You're going into a club- and that happens often enough in LA- to find a Navy Officer who we know frequents there. What do you wear?" _

"_A red dress that is attention grabbing," Kensi responded catching on to where he was going with this. _

"_But if we're roughing it through the desert?" _

"_Pants, shirt- both practical and coloured according to the terrain." _

"_Right," he responded and nodded his head, "get in the back seat," he told her when their taxi was up. He put the suitcase in the back and slid in beside her, he spoke Serbian and she frowned not liking the fact she didn't know what he was saying. "Nearest car rental," he told her in English, "we're going to need our own wheels for this." _

"_Mr Callen?" _

"_Please stop calling me that," Callen leaned his head back, "yes?"_

"_Well what am I to call you? Macy calls you Callen and Sam calls you G." _

"_Either of those are fine, just stop calling me mister." _

"_Feeling your age?" She bit her tongue and squeezed her eyes shut. She saw the way Sam and Callen bantered all the time, and Mike Renko got in on it every once an a while too, but she was now thinking she __**really**__ shouldn't have said that. She opened one eye a slit to see if he was angry, instead he was grinning. _

"_I'm young at heart," he responded and she grinned back knowing she wasn't in trouble. _

_The taxi dropped them off and Callen paid, he turned to Kensi with her suitcase as the taxi left, "this is a Marka," he handed her a few bills of the paper currency, "it's also known as the convertible mark and is the official currency here."_

"_Looks like Monopoly money." _

"_It's got nothing on the Canadian bills," Callen responded, she went to give the money back but he shook his head, "keep it incase we get separated." _

"_Thought this was suppose to be easy," she said walking in stride with him as they approached the rental store. _

"_Even the easiest missions, even the most thought out of plans have hiccups," he responded and opened the door, "ladies first." _

::

Kensi paused in her reminiscing, it was strange to think of a time where she'd been so green in the field, it was strange to remember that she idolized Callen, not that she still didn't, she did. The man still was the legend... but now she felt he'd grabbed her by the hand and pulled her up to stand on the pedestal with him and Sam. He made her worthy of being an agent at the Office of Special projects where only the most elite make it. It had been a long time since she trusted in someone after her father's death... and then Jack leaving her... and then there had been Callen and Sam and she'd found her little spot, her family there.

Callen studied Kensi's face, she had a distant look upon her face. He looked over to the other couch, Deeks was leaning forward in interest of the story, Sam was sitting like he was weighting the facts. And Nell was staring right at him, right _into_ him. He had to tell her everything and what she did with the information was up to her... "I told Kensi to pick out a car..."

"And told me not to pick it in red," Kensi threw him a smile.

"So she picked out a black Maserati."

"And he just looked at me and made me ask why that was a bad choice," Kensi said, "and he told me that we weren't on a high end cover, 'we don't get to drive Maserati's whenever we feel like it'... so I picked a two year old black Ford Focus and when he didn't give me the look I signed the papers."

Callen picked up on the story, "we were searching for information on a man who was somehow acquiring money and was funding a terrorist group on our watch list, he was booked into the Hotel Central so... that's where we booked in..." he looked over at Kensi who was pushing back the cuticles on her nails, "and that is where things really started..."

::

**I'm Canadian and couldn't help the jab at our own currency :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews, I really appreciate it! **

::

RECAP: **Callen picked up on the story, "we were searching for information on a man who was somehow acquiring money and was funding a terrorist group on our watch list, he was booked into the Hotel Central so... that's where we booked in..." he looked over at Kensi who was pushing back the cuticles on her nails, "and that is where things really started..." **

::

"_Reservations for Branimir Jankovic," Callen said in Serbian using his alias and putting his drivers license on display for the man behind the counter. He'd taken stock of the lobby within the first few seconds of coming into the hotel and was now looking over the desk clerk. _

_The man nodded, checked the computer and handed him a key speaking in Serbian in return, "have a nice stay Mr Jankovic." _

_Callen thanked the man and took the key. He looked to the younger agent and started walking knowing she would follow him into the elevator. Once the doors shut he asked her, "what did you see why we were in the lobby?" She sighed, and he kept the smile from his face, he knew these little tests annoyed the younger agent but it was his job to keep her safe and at the moment that meant testing her and making her realize the world around her. _

"_There were bunch of white couches, more modern than I thought the place would be, a man sitting on the far right reading a newspaper." She paused thinking back, "there was another on the by the main entrance, he didn't show any interest in either of us and kept looking to the elevator, likely expecting someone." _

"_And the man at the front desk?" He asked as the elevator door opened he held it and waited for her to exit. _

"_What about him?" Kensi asked wheeling her bag into the hallway. _

"_Did you note anything about him?" _

"_Five six-ish, short dark hair, shaved this morning. Ill fitting suit, likely under paid." _

"_His accent," Callen hinted finally unlocking the door to their suite. Basic protocol made him check in the closet and bathroom first before walking into the rest it was all clear. "His accent pegs him as a lower class working man." _

"_How am I suppose to know that?" He could tell she was annoyed by the tone of her voice. _

"_You aren't," Callen responded dumping his bag on a chair and noting there was only one bed. "That's why I'm telling you. This hotel is one of the nicer ones in Sarajevo they usually have someone from a higher class and a nicer fitting suit behind the desk." _

"_You think he's with our guy?" _

_Callen shrugged, "it's a possibility, there is a possibility for everything in this job." _

"_So what do we do next?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest. _

"_We get coffee," he responded walking away and she quickly followed. There was a small café just across the way from the hotel. He ordered two coffee's and handed one to her, "one milk three sugars, right?" _

_She smiled, though looking a little perplexed, "yeah." _

"_I'm an undercover agent working for one of the most elite offices, if I didn't know how my team takes their coffee I'd be doing a terrible job," Callen said in answer to her confusion, he looked around a moment before taking a spot outside with his back to the wall. He kept his eyes on the hotel doors but kept his gaze ever moving to what was around them. _

"_So we just have to find out how this guy is getting so much money," Kensi whispered quietly keeping her eyes moving like Callen was. _

"_Yep, and we get to stay in a nice hotel, free airfare and all the coffee we can drink," he smiled at her, "the job does have perks." Kensi had smiled back and taken a sip of coffee and nearly spat it back out, she coughed a bit and hit herself in the chest letting out a breath. Callen watched her with worry lines on his face, "you okay?" _

_She pointed, since she'd distracted him, "isn't that Slavko?_"

::

"Who's Slavko?" Deeks asked leaning forward, "the guy you two were after?" He loved stories, any kind of story, action stories, suspenseful ones, and though he'd never admit it a romantic scene or two didn't hurt a plot line... this story however was a little different. The characters were people he knew, and the plot line had actually happened and it made him worry that the two people sitting in front of him looked less than pleased by this fact.

"Yeah," Callen responded sitting back, "Kensi spotted him; full name Slavko Pike. Mother was Bosnian, father was American."

"We suspected that he had daddy issues," Kensi continued running a hand through her hair.

"Why?" Deeks inquired, curiosity always got the better of him.

"His father had murdered his mother," Kensi responded with a sad shake of her head. Sometimes the world was really messed up. She'd lost her dad but it didn't make her start to fund terrorist activities... then again she'd joined NCIS and now carried a weapon and shot people for a living... "Slavko had a hate on for all American's after that."

"So he started funding terrorist attacks because his mother was murdered?" Sam asked looking unconvinced. "Doesn't really make sense."

"Well you add in the money he was skimming off the top," Callen elaborated with a hand guesture, "Slavko had become a very wealthy man."

"So how was he getting the funds?" Nell asked. She just wanted to know the entire story, know how everything would come together... and at the same time the look of weariness on Callen and the apprehension on Kensi, she knew the story didn't have a happy ending, they wouldn't be returning to Bosnia now to finish the job if it did.

Callen swallowed hard not really wanting to continue, the first part was easy but he knew the further down the line it got the worse it was going to be for both him and Kensi. For the first time since the Bosnia incident he wished they had talked about it. Set everything on the table and just...acknowledged it. Because now... she was sitting there with that look of fear and apprehension and he couldn't help but notice how her hands were shaking which was why she had them pressed together between her knees. Maybe if they had talked about it then... it wouldn't be such a big deal now. He took a deep breath and looked back to Nell, "well... when he left the hotel when we were at the coffee shop, we followed him wondering the same thing..."

::

_Callen had put his arm around her waist and she had immediately leaned into him, her arm going around him and they looked like a couple going for a stroll. "You got him?" He asked quietly. _

"_Yeah," Kensi responded, "light blue jacket, black hair." _

"_Good," Callen let her go and stopped at a newsstand._

"_What are you doing?" she whispered loudly grabbing him. _

"_You said you had him," he looked down the street, "you're going to loose him if you don't get going though. Call me with the location. Don't get caught." _

_She had said a profanity and taken off at a brisk walk. He worried about her as he handed over a marka to pay for a pack of gum and a chocolate bar. She was good in hand to hand combat, skilled with weapons- though currently neither had a gun or even a knife. Still he had to let her out of his sight for a minute, and she needed to be able to handle herself on her own. It was hard because she was young, and not only that but his responsibility. He followed the same street she had and turned the corner where she had disappeared, he spotted her still walking down the street, easy to find with her bright red coat. Seriously he was going to have to have another talk with her about that._

_She looked around nervously and he noted she adjusted her purse and held on. He didn't expect her to be so nervous, he'd had her in the field a couple of times and she handled herself with confidence... then again he'd been there, and most of the time Sam too. _

_He kept his distance ensuring she didn't spot her tail. He figured part of him would be proud if she did spot him, another annoyed at his own failings. He spotted Pike turn to walk down the corner and Kensi paused outside of it and put her back to the wall peeking her head around before quickly snapping her head back and breathing in and out for a few seconds, she looked back around the corner and then pulled out the burn phones they had for the mission. _

_His phone vibrated and he picked it out of his coat pocket, "very good," he answered as he walked toward her weaving around a group of teenagers. "Got you a chocolate bar, which door is he at?" _

"_How did you..." her question died as she saw him and she hung up her phone. _

_Her foot had tapped the pavement impatiently. "You tailed me," she accused once he was close enough. _

"_I did." _

"_Why did you do that? Why didn't you just come with me?" She demanded. _

_He handed her the chocolate bar and put up a hand to calm her down- which he shouldn't have because he knew that didn't fly well with women. She glared at him angrily and he sighed. "I tailed you because you have to get use to being on your own. Even when you're in a partnership often you get split up, someone takes the back entrance, the other takes the front and for those moments you're on your own. You have to be able to take care of yourself before you can take care of your partner." _

_She ripped off the wrapper and took a bite, "and if he had turned on me and pulled a gun?" _

"_Why would he?" Callen asked, "do you think you tailed him that poorly?" _

_She frowned, "no! I did just fine... he went through the second door down." _

_Callen poked his head around and looked in the alleyway, "lets go take a look at the front." He put his arm around her again. _

"_I'm going to be put in those girly roles aren't I?" Kensi asked, "couple roles?" _

"_Yes," Callen replied, "not always, but it's often a good way in... one person asking questions? A cop. Two people asking questions? Agents. People don't like talking to agents, but they don't mind gossiping with the couple thinking about buying the house across the street." They turned the corner and Callen frowned, as he read the sign. _

_Kensi hadn't needed too and her face scrunched up at the sight of the skinned animals for display in the window, "a butcher shop. Not ominous at all." _

"_Closed at three thirty on a Monday?" Callen noted, "not a good sign." _

"_You think... something shady is going on inside." _

_He looked at her with a smile, "you've been watching too many detective movies," he said. "Shady," he scoff, "who uses the word 'shady?'" _

"_Apparently I do," Kensi bit back. "So what do we do?" _

"_One of us will take the front, the other the back and we'll call when he comes out," Callen explained. "Which do you want?" _

::

"Everything was a test with you," Kensi interrupted the story. "If I chose the front where he was unlikely to come out of you'd see me as nervous or weak, and if I chose the back you'd peg me as overeager."

"I was still determining who you were in the field. We're not always the same person in the gym or at our desks as we are when we have to make decisions that matter," Callen explained, "I was still trying to figure you out."

"I chose the back," Kensi said picking up on the story, "and that was where he'd come out of..."

::

_Kensi felt the fluttering of nerves, the surge of adrenaline when the old door creaked open and Slavko Pike exited the building. He looked both ways nervously but she was still at the alley entrance, her phone to her ear speaking occasionally though no one was on the line as she finished off her candy bar. _

_Slavko spoke to someone at the back door for a moment, but it was all in Serbian and Kensi didn't understand, there was an exchange of money, Slavko to the man in the deep red coat. She called Callen, "he's coming out this end, he had a brief conversation with the man in the butcher's coat but I couldn't understand it." _

"_Coming to you," Callen replied and then asked, "what's wrong?" _

_Kensi hadn't been able to hide the gasp that had escaped her lips, "the butcher just handed him a young girl, blonde, fair skin, can't determine eye colour probably about twelve, she looks drugged, wobbling on her feet..." her heart hammered in her chest as Slavko Pike pulled the little girl to his body and smiled in a way that sent chills down Kensi's spine. _

_How could she just stand there and watch as a man purchased a child? _

_She didn't hang up but she put the phone in her jacket... and then stripped the jacket off, Callen was right, it was bright red and if she could just get the child and run and then mix herself in the crowd... _

_She walked into the alleyway with a sway and touched the old brick as she pretended to be unsteady on her feet, the dress she wore was tasteful and went to her knees a pretty flower print and now she wished she wore something a little more non-descript... like Callen's grey t-shirt- no logo- covered mostly by a black jacket,, and crisp blue jeans. No one could pick him out from any other number of men in the city. _

_The men finally realized she was there and Slavko said something in a dangerous tone, only she couldn't tell what it was. _

"_Danger," Callen's voice whispered the translation in her ear, "lady, lady, you are in great danger." _

_Slavko said something, and Callen responded back with a smile and he pushed Kensi against the wall and looked her over with a lewd smile. The words from Callen's mouth were twisted in Serbian and she wished she knew what the hell he was saying, but she trusted him enough to go along with whatever he did. She'd taken drama in high school and they had a unit on improvisation... the first rule is never contradict what someone else in the group has said or done. Callen was improvising and she wasn't about to contradict him, especially since he obviously knew more about he situation than she did. _

_Slavko said something else and Kensi was greatly annoyed, Callen had told her when she first started working at the Office Of Special Projects that she should pick a few languages and start perfecting them... she hadn't seen the point, she already knew English, Spanish and Portugese wasn't that enough? No, it was never enough because now Serbian was getting thrown back and forth and Callen's stance had stiffened and his voice was getting low and dangerous. She'd have a better grasp on the situation, perhaps some forewarning if she only understood. _

_Something very bad was about to happen and she knew it, felt it in her gut- and that was the first rule Callen had insisted upon: __**Listen to your gut**__._

_It happened fast, Slavko had pulled a gun and Callen had put his hands up and taken a step to block Kensi from it's fire line. He'd then said something in Serbian with a cocky attitude as he stepped forward and then lunged and in a quick combo of moves she'd seen him practice with Sam, Slavko was disarmed._

::

"Sounds like things were going just fine," Sam said when Kensi paused and looked ill, "but obviously it didn't end okay."

"No it didn't," Kensi whispered, "I should never have walked into that alley. It's what started it all. If I hadn't... if I had just tailed Pike like I was suppose to..."

Kensi looked distraught and was chewing on her nail refusing to look at anyone so Callen picked up the story. "Pike might have been disarmed... but I really should have been keeping a better eye on the butcher..."

::


	4. Chapter 4

RECAP: **Kensi looked distraught and was chewing on her nail refusing to look at anyone so Callen picked up the story. "Pike might have been disarmed... but I really should have been keeping a better eye on the butcher..." **

::

_Callen had the gun out of Slavko's hand when he heard Kensi cry out a warning. He turned only to have a knife plunged into his lower abdomen._

::

Nell let out a little gasp as Callen spoke nonchalantly about being stabbed in an alleyway. Like it was something that was a routine, like getting coffee or paying taxes. "How can you just say it like that?"

"What?" Callen looked at her, she looked worried. "I'm obviously fine," he said but his hand went over what he knew to be a faint white line.

Nell too knew just which scar it was when her eyes tracked his hand, he had many more scars that she wondered if she ever would know the stories behind them... she wondered after this if she'd want to. "You just say, 'Kensi warned me, but it was too late and I got stabbed' seriously like... like you would say 'and today I went to the bank and pulled out a twenty."

"I don't understand how my banking came into this," Callen said a little perplexed by Nell's line of thinking and wondered if the altitude was getting to her.

"You need to take better care of yourself!" Callen opened his mouth to argue but she wasn't finished, "you now say things like 'I got in a massive four car pile up' like it's something that happens on a day to day basis."

"I've never been in a four car pile up," he refused to mention in one particular car chase that he flipped a car and two other cars had slammed into him... correcting her by saying he'd been in a three car pile up... it just wasn't the time.

"You know what I mean G," she said softly and the stiffness and anger in her had ebbed slightly.

He gave her a tentative smile, "I'll try to be more careful."

"Come on," Deeks said impatiently, both of his feet bouncing in place as he leaned in ensnared by the story, "you can't just drop off the story there! What happened next?"

Sam was shaking his head at Deeks's antics but Kensi couldn't help but smile. Her partner warmed her heart, but she was so afraid that after finding out all the details... sure she'd been green, she'd been overeager to prove herself to Callen and the agency... but... she'd made a lot of mistakes, and both she and Callen had paid dearly for them. If she hadn't walked into that alleyway, Callen wouldn't have been stabbed... and... she closed her eyes blanking it out.

"Not entirely sure to be honest," Callen replied looking to Kensi.

"After the butcher... stabbed... Callen," she rubbed the bridge of her nose, she was getting a vicious head ache. "Callen shoved the man back, he still had a grip on the knife so it came out..." Her voice was thick with emotions threatening to break free. The image of the blood soaking Callen's grey shirt and the disoriented look upon his face pained her greatly. "Uh...he...Callen I mean... he fell down, passed out." She paused unable to speak for a moment. "I just... need a minute," she got to her feet and staggered slightly but Deeks was up and guiding Kensi to the back before Callen could even move.

"Bathroom or bedroom?" Another time and Deeks' voice would have been more suggestive, but he sensed this was neither the time nor the place.

"Bathroom," she responded, "I don't need you to hold me up, I'm fine, I just... I just need a minute okay."

"A minute with me," he opened the door and slid into the small bathroom that was hardly wide enough for the two of them.

"I might be sick," she said looking at the toilet with a feeling of apprehension.

"Than be sick Kensi," Deeks replied, "but I'm not leaving you like this." His hand came in contact with the small of her back and he rubbed circles. "We're partners." Deeks then seen something he never thought he would, Kensi Blye's lip quivered, just a second before she caught the offending lip in her teeth and bit hard enough to draw blood. "Kens," he whispered and brought her into his arms.

"I was so young... and new to the agency..." Kensi blurted, "I screwed up bad. _We hid it in the reports Deeks!_" Her voice went up an octave in her panic. "Callen mostly, he talked it out with Macy and Hetty..."

"Anyone but the four of you knew?"

Kensi shook her head against his chest revelling in the comfort. "Oh, except Nate," she corrected herself, "it was a stipulation of Hetty's. She wanted to ensure both of us were mentally sound for both duty and both willing, able to work with each other..." _Breathe in, breathe out_, his warm hand on her back was the most comforting of things. "I thought I'd be transferred out. I thought Callen would send me on my way... but he didn't." She found that this brought a smile to her face, despite all she had done wrong, Callen hadn't let her fall. "Macy tried to convince me to transfer, put the papers for a cushy paper pusher position on my desk. I had a feeling she didn't expect more than that of me after what I had just done." She looked up at him an smiled, "I heard Callen chewing her out in her office." It was strange to imagine the Senior Agent-In-Charge chewing out the then Operational Manager Lara Macy.

"This team is tight," Deeks said. He wasn't surprised that Callen had stood up for her, but he found himself wondering if Callen would do the same for him.

"And you're a part of it Marty," she said quietly. She was worried about how her past mistakes would reflect onto their partnership, but thus far the story hadn't seemed to have damaged any bonds... then again... it got a hell of a lot worse. "You know that right?" Deeks shrugged. "Callen would never say it, likely Sam wouldn't either, but they watch out for you." She smiled and motioned for him to bend down and he could see secrets in her eyes. He leaned in eagerly and her voice, so quiet, warmed his ear, "after you were shot, they took turns following you home- making sure you got in all right, Callen even ordered Eric to run your neighbours."

"Really?" Deeks said with a grin.

Kensi nodded, "one of your neighbours skipped bail, after all that happened... Callen and Sam were worried, brought the guy in personally to LAPD." Kensi touched his chest, "we all look after each other... and... maybe we shouldn't have hid these facts but Callen was worried that it would hurt my career, and by the way Macy acted... it would have... and some of the things that happened... Marty I just want you to know... I... I screwed up," she ran her hand through her hair in frustration and worry. "I was wrong in the things I said... the things... I did..." Kensi looked to the toilet a little fearful that the nausea was coming back, she looked back into her partner's eyes, "please don't hold my past against me, please... don't look at me with pity, or sympathy, or anger, or hatred when this story is done, and I know it's a lot to ask on faith but... please... don't look at me like I'm not... _Wonder Woman _at the end of this." She needed him to know the story, understand everything and yet still see her as Kensi. Callen did, but Deeks was her partner, and she desperately needed him to trust her after this or their partnership would be over.

He kissed the top of her head, "I'll look at you like I always do, whatever you and Callen have to tell us, it's not going to change anything Kens." Deeks studied the hopeful look in her face and he smiled reassuringly, "we're partners, you're my best friend I couldn't imagine my life with out you, besides... I've done my fair share of screw-ups in the past... so... don't hold them against me?"

"I won't," Kensi replied in a voice no more than a whisper and yet it held promise. "Thanks Marty," she leaned her head against his chest, "I guess we should be getting back..."

"You okay?"

"Once we are done briefing, finish our job in Bosnia and get the hell back to LA..." Kensi said, "maybe then I will be."

::

"How many times _have_ you been stabbed?" Sam asked since they were on the topic anyways, he was completely oblivious to the absolutely horrified look Nell was shooting his way.

"Are we including all knifing incidents? Do slices count? Or just," he mimed the movement, "stabs."

"Just stabs," Sam replied, "slices the number would be far to high."

"Seven... no- eight," Callen said tallying them in his head, "nine if you include the screwdriver incident..."

"The screwdriver incident?" Nell's voice high and Sam finally looked over to see how shocked she looked. "You were stabbed by a screwdriver?"

"Once," Callen replied, "but it only went in a bit, so I'm not sure if it really counts though it was very unpleasant. I'll take a clean knife above it any day- preferably non serrated."

She shot him a frosty glare, "first you talk about getting stabbed like it's an everyday occurrence and now you're talking about which weapon would be more _preferable_ to be stabbed with?" Callen went to talk but she put up a hand to stop him, "please G, don't. I don't want to hear how many times you've been hurt and dying, by the sounds of it you've used up more lives than a cat has." She took in a shaky breath.

Sam looked between the two and stood, "I'm going to check in with the pilot." He walked away and grinned since it appeared neither noticed him walking right between them. He knew when to give a moment.

Callen stood, walked over to her and knelt in front of her, "you've seen my body," he whispered softly to her. "Knowing you, you've kept a tally of my injuries in your head." He studied the worry in her brow, the flickering of her eyes like she was determined to stay mad and look away, but she still cared and kept looking back to him. "I get shot at... often. Occasionally those shots hit home. I get attacked with knives, not as often as I get shot at... but often enough to be paranoid about sharp objects." He had been going somewhere with this line of thought, but suddenly he was aware of how bad it sounded. "It's the job," he said and wondered why the hell anyone would sign up for it. He knew he wasn't crazy, Nate always signed his papers, NCIS let him carry a gun, they wouldn't if he was bonkers. "It's dangerous," he said running a hand through her hair.

"I know," she whispered leaning into his touch. "You save lives... everyday, I understand and respect your sacrifice... but hearing about it all in details, and seeing, or hearing from the ops centre that you or Kensi or Sam or Deeks have been injured, or just escaped an explosion, or survived another firefight... it's _hard. _I just... I worry about all of you." She finally looked right at him and rested her forehead against his, "especially you."

Deeks cleared his throat, "um... we could return to the back part of the plane..."

"Na, they were at the end of their care and share," Sam interjected from the other side of the lounge. "Besides, if you two are going to give us the full brief before Bosnia you might want to get on with it." The flight was a long one, and he was exaggerating but they had to get to it.

Callen sat beside Nell, holding her hand in his despite their 'keeping it strictly professional' while at work rule... Callen decided the plane didn't count, especially since he and Kensi were telling secrets they had hidden from NCIS. Sam sat with them and Kensi and Deeks took the other couch.

"So..." Kensi started, "Callen passed out..."

::

_He hadn't prepared her for this. She was freaking out, Pike had his gun. The butcher had a knife coated in Callen's blood and her training agent, the legend G Callen was passed out, bleeding on the ground of an alleyway in Bosnia. She'd always thought of Callen as invincible, he couldn't get shot, couldn't get stabbed, couldn't get made. He was such a gifted agent, such a well respected agent... he always had a plan... but surely his plan hadn't included this. _

_Serbian words were thrown between Pike and the butcher and Kensi fought her flight or fight instinct. She wasn't about to run away and leave the girl and Callen to Pike or the butcher's mercies. She couldn't fight either, she might be able to disarm one like Callen had but if she launched an attack on one, the other would be on her in a second. _

'_**Sometimes you just have to wait it out,' **__Callen had told her on a stake out where she discovered he made a mean cup of thermos coffee and ate a considerable quantity of Tootsie Pops... she wondered what his dentist thought of that. _

_More Serbian and then the gun was trained on Kensi, there was a low rumble and he said a phrase so much like the one Callen had taught her, it wasn't exactly 'I'm going to kill you' but 'kill' was definitely in the sentence. _

"_English," she said putting her hands up in a non-threatening gesture, "I only speak English, please... please don't shoot me." _

_Pike's eyes ran over her body and he said something to the butcher who walked back into the building. For a moment she had delusions of getting the gun from Pike, saving the girl and getting Callen to a hospital... but they were brief and reality set in with a vengeance. _

_The butcher re-emerged with a white cloth, she couldn't run and she only stood there as the butcher put the sweet scented cloth over her face. If they took her... they'd surely leave Callen... and someone would see, call an ambulance, get him help. If they took her with the girl... she could help her escape, she had to, she had to make this all right somehow. _

_The chloroform did it's magic and the world slipped away._


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all the comments on this story, it is truly inspiring :) Love and Light!**

Recap: _**The butcher re-emerged with a white cloth, she couldn't run and she only stood there as the butcher put the sweet scented cloth over her face. If they took her... they'd surely leave Callen... and someone would see, call an ambulance, get him help. If they took her with the girl... she could help her escape, she had to, she had to make this all right somehow. **_

_**The chloroform did it's magic and the world slipped away.**_

::

_When the chloroform wore off Kensi felt as if she'd had cotton balls in her mouth. She moved her tongue around in her mouth and it felt like sandpaper. She let out a disgruntled sound as she sat up slowly. The room had no windows, and the only light source was a faint glow from under the doorway. She waited a moment willing herself not to panic as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. She felt around, cold cement floors and from that she determined she was likely in a basement. Her hands felt the walls and they were rough and she could feel the mortar between the thick bricks. As her eyes adjusted she realized the room was not so big, the right side was shaped funny, something leaning against it. She stood on wobbly legs, holding onto the wall for support as she shuffled her way over, her hands touching what she realized to be a consol of some sort. Buttons, levers, she felt the wall before it and found icy cool class that was slightly warped outward, lots of it, televisions. A security room, or control room of some sort. _

_There was no sign of the little girl, no sign of Callen. She felt herself all over, nothing was broken, that she was sure of, and she was quite sure that nothing was even bruised, her only complaint was a headache from hell. _

::

Kensi grew silent for a moment. She knew what was to come, she knew how difficult the story was to get. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans and breathed through the wave of panic like she'd been taught. She slowed it down, sniper breathing. Deeks's hand warmed over hers and she found it remarkable how golden tanned he was, she was jealous. Just a bit. And it was strange, in that moment she'd forgotten about the story and had completely focussed instead on how gorgeously tanned he was.

She shot him a thankful smile and steeled her spine before continuing. "So I went to the door, I hoped it was unlocked and that no one was guarding the place," she scoff. "Like that has ever happened... but I pressed my ear to the door..."

::

_The door was metal and listening through it was next to useless, even if she did understand Serbain, or perhaps it was Bosnian now -it was little more than murmurs. Wisps of voices, one she didn't know and one that she was fairly certain was Slavko Pike. Her hand found the door handle and she pushed it down, softly. It moved. She nearly did a happy dance on the spot, it wasn't locked, she felt the door and her hand didn't come in contact with any deadbolts. _

_She waited a moment and listened. She heard footsteps that got quieter, she could just walk out, find the girl, and get out. Once she had the girl safe she could call into the office and find out if hospitals had brought in a Branimir Jankovik. _

_She was feeling confident and perhaps a little bit like the bad ass agent she wanted to become. She still heard one person walking around outside the room she was in, it was either Pike or the unknown. She took a few quick breaths psyching herself up, she was going to just grab the door and push it open and spring on whoever happened to be out there, element of surprise and all. She readied herself and launched at the door. _

_The door budged only slightly and she heard the screech of metal on concrete. She felt like an idiot, the door was pinned with a chair. _

_There was laughter and it hung in the accented voice of Pike. _

_Kensi let out a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush. _

::

"Where was the little girl? How did you get out?" Sam questioned two storytellers were masters of suspense they couldn't simply just tell them could they? No. They had to make it into a big long explanation... though in this case Sam figured it was best to know just what they were walking into, and what potential emotional landmines might be in the way for the two. "And where the heck were you?" He asked looking to Callen.

"Well I wasn't in the hospital," Callen muttered bitterly.

"I didn't get out," Kensi replied with a shudder, "Pike called the unknown man back and they opened the door."

::

_The sound of the chair being moved on the other side of the door made Kensi back up till her back hit the wall. Words in a foreign language were spoken by deep accented voices. She reminded herself of her goals. She reminded herself of her training. She reminded herself just who she worked for. She reminded herself that over everyone who had applied, she had been the one who had got the position with the elite NCIS undercover team. They had chosen her for a reason. _

_She would fight. _

_She would escape. _

_She would find the girl, find Callen and they would finish the mission. _

::

A bitter laugh escaped her lips, "it was foolish thinking," she shook her head her dark waves obscuring the emotions waging war upon her face. Her voice no more than a sad whisper, "so foolish."

::

_The door opened and Kensi took up a fighting posture, reading herself for battle. She'd taken down Callen once in training, he'd looked surprised and then smiled and said, __**'see I told you, you'd get the hang of it.' **__He had been proud of her, she knew it and she relished the feeling. It had been a long time since she had someone to look up to, but she had found both a friend and mentor in Callen and it was more than she ever could have hoped for when she had started at NCIS. _

_She didn't understand the words Pike was saying, but obscene gestures are the same in every language and they made her skin crawl. _

_Pike turned to the muscular man beside him, the man stood at six two, solidly packed she didn't see a gun but reckoned that he didn't really need more than the two 'guns' of his massive arms. Dark hair and a thick shadow upon his face and eyes... she froze when she looked into the deep soulless depths. _

_Pike looked her up and down and she damned herself yet again for wearing a dress. It wasn't necessary. Her conversation earlier in the day with Callen came back to mind, dresses were for parties, clubs, charity auctions. On the streets tailing a guy in Bosnia, she should have taken a look at Callen if she felt she needed guidance, she should have wore jeans like he did, a plain top, and __**not**__ a red jacket. She had brought three jackets, a dark jean jacket, a brown leather jacket and that damned red trench coat; and which had she worn? The red one! Why? Because it looked cute with the dress that she shouldn't have been wearing! She was furious with herself, all of her mistakes had lead her here. _

_She figured the muscular guy to be a mercenary, he was taking orders from Pike, that much was clear. Pike said something and smiled at her as the mercenary came closer._

::

She peered through the dark curtains of her hair. She felt a bit like she had all those years ago, nervous for sure, a hint of fear, all of her youthful insecurities were suddenly back. What if Sam didn't think she was good enough for the team anymore? What if Deeks didn't want her as his partner? Nell... what if Nell didn't want to be friends and drink cosmos and get their nails done like they had been doing every Tuesday night since their vacation?

Callen had a look upon his face of barely contained fury, probably because he at least knew some of what happened next.

Nell was looking nervously between Kensi and Callen trying to get a read on the situation, analysing.

Sam... Sam looked scared, worried, two things she rarely seen on him.

She finally looked over to her partner, he gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand. She moved her hand to his wrist and felt his pulse under her finger, it was rapid.

She sucked in a breath, "I... I tried to fight, he came close and I kicked for his knee. Callen told me never go for the crotch kick if you think the person you're fighting is highly trained. Guys are always aware the first move a girls is going to go for is the junk, they're prepared and if they catch your leg you'll be on your back and in a very compromised position in a hurry." She took her hand away from Deeks's, despite the comfort he offered she didn't want him to feel the tremors. She stuck both hands between her knees and bowed her head allowing her hair to shelter her from the eyes of her colleagues, friends, family. "My foot connected, and it seemed to annoy more than injure, flared up anger and... he tackled me..."

::

_His shoulder under her ribs knocking the breath from her body milliseconds before they both hit the ground and she found she couldn't suck in a breath she kept gasping. They warn you on the job about getting shot at or stabbed, the perils of undercover work and aliases that are sleaze bags. No one says anything about how terrifying it is when you've been tackled and for a few seconds you can't breathe. Breathing is something you do unconsciously, you just... do it, all the time. You're only aware of your breath when you can't breathe. _

_By the time the stars fade from her vision, her head took a good knock in the fall but was a secondary thought to the panic being unable to get air brought. The mercenary held her wrists above her head with a grip so fierce she just knew her skin was bruising. Pike was there as she gasped in her first breath in what felt like forever. He was pushing the mercenary to the side, and the big man moved out of the way but kept a grip on her wrists despite all her yanking and pulling. _

_Unable to throw a punch she started kicking, and screaming. Pike was between her legs, pushing up her dress and had the most sadistic smile on his face._

::

"Please," Deeks's voice was a thick with emotions. "Please tell me he didn't."

The partners were sitting so close that Kensi could actually feel him trembling at the implications. Again, too fearful to full out look at her friends she looked up through her lashes, through the dark curls that partially hid her face. Nell's eyes were red rimmed and her nose was getting pink, she was one storyline curve from crying. Callen looked more furious than she'd ever seen him. Sam was running a hand over his bald head. She reached blindly and found Deeks's hand and drew strength from her partner.

She forced herself to sit up, put the emotions in a box and blank her face before she pushed her hair back, she wasn't going to hide- least of all from them. She wasn't that young probationary agent who bit off more than she could chew anymore. She was Special Agent Kensi Blye, she was a total fricken bad ass, Sam and Callen- the 'golden duo' trusted her with their lives, she had Deeks's back and damn it, she could pull off a cover, and alias, a mission with the best of them. She wasn't that scared girl separated from her mentor anymore.

She gave a smile that held no humour, "he couldn't get it up." She had spent far too much time wondering what her life would be like if he had, if he had raped her that day in Bosnia... would she and Callen have gotten out alive if he had? What would have happened to the little girl? Would she still be working with NCIS? After all that she might have quit, unable to face the job, face her colleagues... she would have never met Deeks, or Nell, or Dom, none of them would have ever been a blip to Kensi the... God, what would she be if not an agent? You can't spend time thinking about the 'what if's' they will drive you to the loony bin.

"He manhandled me for a bit, touched my face so I bit his hand," Kensi gave a shrug, "it was all I could do." The fact of the matter was, was that she was a female agent. She was smaller, easier to get down, easier to drop in a fight. She was good at undercover work, slip into an alias, people talk to women, open up to them and she always knew just what to say to get them to. But... sometimes it sucked realizing your own limitations... limitations that could get you killed.

"He got frustrated, he said something to the mercenary and got off me." Kensi gave a sad smile, "I was elated. The mercenary dragged me out of the room, it appeared to be a subway station, one that was broken down or an old end of the line that had been shortened," Kensi shrugged, "they dragged me along the tiny platform, and I had delusions of shoving my feet on the wall, pushing us both onto the tracks... maybe getting away... but..." she sighed, "I thought they might take me to the girl, put us both in one place."

"But they didn't," Sam speculated.

"No," Callen cut in, Kensi had told more than enough and he could see the ghosts, pain and deep introspection upon her face, "they took her to me."


	6. Chapter 6

Recap:__**"No," Callen cut in, Kensi had told more than enough and he could see the ghosts, pain and deep introspection upon her face, "they took her to me."**

::

_Callen had been chained to a pipe inside of a ticket booth at what appeared to be a no longer in use subway station. He had slipped in and out of consciousness a few times and held his hand over the offending wound. The blood loss was starting to have him worried, and it took quite the injury to make him actively think he really should go to the hospital. It was no secret, G Callen hated hospitals. _

_He looked around, but the booth had been stripped clean, he had managed to slide the door to the booth open with his foot and was listening for any sound but thus far nothing. He wondered if he had been brought there to die. By the way the dust had collected it didn't seem that anyone had been there in a long while, and it was unlikely anyone would be coming anytime soon. And he needed someone to be getting him uncuffed and taken to a hospital. He needed to find Kensi. He needed to find the civilian girl. He wouldn't even put up a fuss if a doctor gave him some morphine right about now. _

_A rat came in, it's little whiskers twitching. __Callen hated rats, diseased little vermin. "Because getting stabbed just wasn't enough for one day," he said cynically to himself with a sigh as he kicked his foot at the rodent a little fearful that it would jump on his leg and bite him. He knew that it was a little irrational, and highly unlikely, but... he could blame the blood loss for his thoughts. _

_He couldn't help but tell the rat that it was confused, and that despite what he likely looked like at the moment he was not a corpse and would appreciate not being eaten alive slowly by a rodent. The beady eyes had stared at him and the little whiskers had twitched and the rat had left. Callen's famous paranoia reared it's ugly head and all he could think was that the rat was going to get all of it's little rat friends and family, his thoughts distracted him for so long that by the time he heard the footsteps they were right behind the toll booth. _

_It was Pike's voice and he'd switched from Serbian to Bosnian, another man answered back and Callen could only make out a few of the words. 'Woman' was one of them. 'Camera' was another. 'Sick' was a third... or was it 'dead.' He shook his head trying to remember the tape he had listened to... years ago. He knew Serbian which in this area was enough to go through a mission with, now he was regretting not learning Bosnian too. _

_God they weren't talking about Kensi were they? Woman... sick... dead? What did a camera have to do with anything? He listened closing his eyes, two heavy and distinctively separate sets of feet, obviously the men talking, but there was a shuffling sound. "Kensi!" Callen called out throwing caution to the wind. "Kensi!" _

"_Ca-" She stopped herself. "Branimir!" Kensi cried out and he could hear the relief in her voice. _

_He was so happy she'd called him by his alias, maybe he could wiggle their way out of this if he could play it off like he was some hot-shot, that he had some scheme to get Slavko Pike money._

_The second man entered the booth and Callen glared at him and spoke in Serbian, "who are you? What do you want from me?" _

_The man looked confused for a moment and Callen realized this was why Pike had switched from Serbian to Bosnian, his mercenary only understood the second. Callen thought back to his Bosnian, he knew a few curse words, how to say 'hello' and to ask 'how are you' none of them useful... well except for the curses. He let a few fly as the man unshackled him from the pipe and hauled him painfully to his feet before shoving him out of the toll booth, Callen caught himself and stood upright, Pike had gun trained on Kensi's side. _

_She looked okay, he noted as he looked her over. There were no obvious wounds. His eyes found the red marks on her wrists and realized they were beginning to bruise. "Kensi, you alright?" he asked her in Spanish, the one language he knew enough of and that he knew she was fluent in. He suspected that Pike knew English, or enough of it having been born to an American father. _

"_I'm fine," she had responded but he heard the tremor of fear in her voice. "You?" _

"_Enough," Slavko had interrupted in Serbian and had shoved Kensi toward Callen, he'd instinctively caught her with both hands, blood staining her skin. "We're going to move from here now. You're going to do exactly as I say. Do you understand me?" _

"_I need medical assistance," Callen argued holding Kensi and subconsciously moving so he would be in front of her. _

_Slavko looked between the two of them and smiled at the mercenary, and when he spoke it was Bosnian again, Callen only managed the word 'camera' again, and the word 'love.' _

_Did Slavko believe they were lovers? Callen wondered if this could be played to their advantage somehow. He touched the side of Kensi's neck and said, "I love you," in English and then before she could say anything he continued in Spanish. "They are talking about a camera, did you see a camera?" _

"_No," she whispered, "but they had me in a control room with televisions... might be hooked up to video cameras." _

"_Silence!" Serbian again and Callen was getting lingual backlash. _

"_You need to speak English if you expect her to understand," Callen said. _

"_Move," the English word was accented and he waved his gun in the direction he wanted them to go. _

"_Think we can take them?" Kensi asked in Spanish barely above a whisper as they started to walk. _

"_No." _

::

Callen felt Nell's hand tighten and he looked over at her his thumb running over her soft skin. She cast her hazel gaze over to him and mouthed the words 'you okay?' He smiled and nodded placing a kiss to her temple.

He caught the way that Kensi's lips turned upward when he did so and he smiled at her, she smiled back. He had always wondered what talking about The Bosnia Incident would do to their friendship, and he was overwhelmingly grateful that it seemed that they would be okay.

"They pushed us through the subway station to an elevator. I wasn't entirely sure it was going to get us to the top and after the rat incident I couldn't help but think we would get stuck and someone would end up resorting to cannibalism."

"That's gross," Kensi said, her voice was a little off like coming off of a long overdue crying jag- though they'd all been there and knew she hadn't. She shook her head, "only you would think that."

"I was bleeding, a lot. I would be the first victim, of course I started worrying about cannibalism!"

Kensi let out a full bodied laugh and it was contagious, Deeks caught it first he gripped his sides gasping for air, Sam next- though not sure if it was the comment or the fact Deeks was crying out 'uncle' as he tried to get air, and then Nell joined in. And those were the sounds Callen needed to hear. The laughter, the light to remind him that though the story was far from finished they had made it through and with friends like these, they could make it through anything.

"You're absurd," Kensi said when she finally had enough air. Deeks was wiping away tears still trying to stifle the last of his laughter and Sam smiled knowingly at Callen and they gave each other a nod.

"Perhaps," Callen acquiesced. "Anyways, my fear of cannibalism was unnecessary as the elevator got to the top with out any problems."

"How did they get you two out of there?" Sam asked.

"The gun was pretty good incentive, it use to be an old bus terminal on the upper level, convenient for commuters, and now that it was out of commission, convenient for Pike." Callen rubbed the bridge of his nose he could feel a headache coming on. "There was a van, the mercenary handcuffed Kensi and I together and got into the back with us. It was gutted, the only seat was the drivers and the windows were tinted. I was bleeding and attached to Kensi... I..." he faltered chewing on his lip in agitation. "There was nothing I could do."

"We did the only thing we could Callen," Kensi spoke softly. "We waited."

Callen sighed. "That we did. The city disappeared and I realized we were being taken outside of Sarajevo. The Mercenary threw a first aid kit at Kensi and practically barked at her in Bosnian. Not a friendly sounding language so who knows, he might have been complimenting on her dress."

Kensi shook her head dismissively, of course Callen would throw a little dig in, it was good natured though and she knew it. She glared at him and he smirked.

"I didn't know what to do," Kensi said with a laugh. "I had taken a first aid course back in high school, and was suppose to be learning it from Sam, but he'd been gone most days so... that part of my training fell to the back burner. I should have just signed up for a civilian course and learned the basics."

"You patched me up fine," Callen argued.

Kensi gave a shake of her head, "it was enough to hold for a while."

"It had to do," Callen agreed. "Pike stopped at this house on the outskirts, and it's nearly dark, the grass is overgrown and there are boards on the window and I realize it's the picture from the file."

"It was the house Pike's father murdered his mother in," Kensi shuddered. "Seriously creepy."

"So what happened?" Nell pried, "they took you in?"

"Yeah," Callen gave a small nod of his head and swallowed the bile that had crept up his throat. He looked over at Kensi who'd gone a shade lighter and the flush of laughter had gone. "We walked in... the place was desolate. Didn't look like anyone had touched a thing since that night... blood stains on the walls." Callen shook his head and focussed on calming his breathing. "There were cameras in the bedroom mounted on the walls. All four corners a blinking red light. A bed with ropes dangling from the posts," he decided he didn't have to tell them they were already stained with blood. "Pike went to the closet..."

::

_He felt her shiver as she stayed close to him, holding to his arm. The closet was filled with dresses, the two agents looked at each other and Callen realized quickly that they were pawns in this game, disposable unless they moved in just the right ways. "Your call," Callen whispered in Spanish. "Whatever he asks of you, it's your call, whatever decision you make I'll back you." _

"_You're the lead agent," she bit back with a panic._

"_This must be your call Kensi," he whispered back in a low, calming voice. He knew something was about to happen, he just wasn't sure what it was. He touched her wrists gingerly, "did he..." the word got caught in his throat. _

_She shook her head, "he couldn't," she whispered. _

_Callen was both grateful that Pike hadn't... and terrified that he had tried. _

::

For Kensi, it was strange to hear the complete story, and from Callen's point of view after all these years. Emotions were toying with his voice and she heard the tremors that betrayed his calm tone.

"He took out a dress and threw it to me, told me to put it on." Kensi shook her head, "I had looked for a change room," how very green of her. Of course her captures weren't going to care to give her some dignity. She had fumbled trying to get a hold of the zipper and Callen had pulled it down slowly as if giving her the time to change her mind. "I switched dresses. Which looking back had been rather pointless..."

::

_The dress was silver and so short it hardly covered her bottom. __"Callen," she'd whispered nervously. _

"_I've got you," he'd whispered soothingly zipping the dress up. He had turned his eyes to Pike and Kensi got an up close look at how eyes can change. He had just seconds ago looked at her and conveyed reassurance and had instilled trust in her. He turned his eyes to Pike and she watched as they became hard, angry and cold. "What do you want?" He questioned in English. _

"_I want..." Pike watched them closely and licked his lips to wet them, his eyes held anticipation and it made Kensi feel sick. "I want you to touch her." _

"_I am," Callen replied his hand on the small of her back. _

_Pike waved the gun pointing it first at Kensi and then on Callen. "Touch your man." _

_Callen looked absolutely confused, it was obvious to Kensi that despite all that the legend had done, this was not, and had never been a scenario he'd been in or thought he would be in. She looked at him a little worriedly. "What are we going to do?" Kensi whispered in Spanish as she took hold of his hand. _

"_Your call Kens," he'd whispered back to her. _

_Kensi didn't want it to be her call. Her calls are what had gotten them both into this mess. "Haven't I done enough damage for one day?" She looked to Pike who was watching them with interest. _

"_Kensi," Callen damn near growled, "don't think about what you have done, think about right now, because this moment is all that matters. It's all that matters." It was ironic coming from a man who spent the majority of his free time digging into his past. Undercover though, it was another story. She'd been watching him studiously since arriving at NCIS and it was amazing that he could just... put it all in a box in his head and be done with his emotions he could just shut it all down and focus on whatever needed to be done, he could just freeze himself to the moment and go through it. _

"_Lovers, yes?" Pike asked. _

_Callen stared at Kensi and it made her heart race. He wasn't going to answer. "Yes," she whispered. _

::

"I tried to make a deal, get us out of the mess... but it didn't work," Callen said. "I figured since he'd purchased a little girl earlier on that he was making money in human trafficking."

"He's making it in arms deals," Nell said, Eric had fed the information to her tablet before they got to the airstrip.

Callen sighed. "He got pretty pissed off by my offer, offended perhaps." Both Callen and Kensi became quiet, neither wanting to be the one to tell the rest, neither quite knowing how to say it.

"So?" Deeks pried, "you can't just stop there." Kensi was pointedly avoiding eye contact with everyone.

Callen let out a sigh that seemed to come all the way from his toes. "He...liked to watch." His jaw clenched.

"He ordered me to strip Callen," Kensi whispered quietly.

"And me to do the same to her," Callen didn't dare look to Nell, he couldn't bare it.

You never spoke about your ex's with a new girlfriend. This was even more awkward, he and Kensi hadn't been dating. There hadn't been a sexual attraction, despite how gorgeous Kensi was and still is Callen simply didn't feel that way for her. Maybe it was because he was to take her under his wing from the moment he met her, made him feel protective, brotherly, which only served to make everything even worse for them.

"He..." Callen found his teeth grinding together and forced himself to stop, "he pointed a gun at me, told me to...make love to her."

"Awkward," Sam said and somehow just one word from him cut the tension that had hung so heavily in the air.

"You have any idea how hard it is to preform with stab wound and a gun pointed at your head," Callen said with a hint of a smile trying for dark humour. He remembered her hands touching him, trying to turn him on, which was no easy task considering he was bleeding out and feeling like he was going to pass out. Blood worried about getting to vital bits, heart, head, keeping circulation throughout your entire body. That piece of anatomy was last on the list.

Deeks wasn't sure how he felt about the entire situation. Kensi was looking away from him, he wondered what he would have done in the same scenario, what she would have done. "So... you guys... _do it_, or attacked them?"

"Did it," Kensi whispered after a long pause. "He would have shot Callen if we didn't, he said that Callen was disposable, they could find another man to..." Kensi shook her head but everyone knew what she had been about to say and it left them all with a sick feeling.

Nell's head rested against Callen's shoulder and he looked at her, looked up at him and tried to give a reassuring smile but it fell off her face. "How did you guys get away?" she asked.

Kensi let out a deep sigh, "after... we... you know..." she couldn't face her team now that they knew she had sex with Callen. They had never spoken about it, they hadn't spoke about the kisses, and the touches, that were more to reassure and to soothe than to ignite passion, they hadn't even acknowledged it, not after the secret debrief, not after closing the files and hiding the documentation. "They left us in the room locked in for hours." And was it ever awkward. The two agents had put their clothing back on, sat on the bed and agreed it would never be spoken of... until now. "And then..." a tear ran down her face and Deeks with out thinking rubbed it away with his thumb.

"And then we heard... we heard the door open, another man's voice... and that of the little girl," Callen took over for Kensi. "We both went to the door and listened..."


	7. Chapter 7

**A big thank you to everyone who has been so kind to take the time to review, I really appreciate it! Love and Light!**

Recap:**"And then we heard... we heard the door open, another man's voice... and that of the little girl," Callen took over for Kensi. "We both went to the door and listened..." **

::

_Callen was holding his hand over his side as he staggered ungracefully to the door and pressed his ear against it, Kensi stood beside him doing the same. Callen listened to the exchange of Serbian words and translated in a whisper to Kensi. "You're late." He listened to the response. "Traffic." He closed his eyes concentrating on the words rather than the pain. "Was she any trouble?... No." The words changed from Serbian to Bosnian. "I don't understand them, but the situation has changed." He heard the little girl crying and repeating a word over and over. The little girl spoke Bosnian, crying over and over a single word he did know. "Dada.' _

_Innocence like that... no matter what the cost to Callen he had to protect it. "I'm going to break the door down." _

"_Seriously? With your side like that? Callen, you can't!" Kensi argued. _

"_I think I know why they took the little girl," Callen said and continued after Kensi gave him a questioning look. "Payment." _

_Kensi felt ill. "The mercenary." _

"_He was taking orders from a man like Pike, he's getting paid somehow." Callen heard the a smack and the little girl howled. "We don't have time to debate this. I'm going out there." _

"_There are three of them, we didn't think we could take them before," Kensi argued. "They will kill you." _

"_It's a child," Callen said in a tone that showed just how despicable he thought the men were outside of the door. "If there is anything worth dying for it's that innocence." _

::

The words hung heavily in the air. Agents all knew what it was like when they didn't get there in time to save a child. No matter how hard you try... sometimes things just don't work out. It's hard when you loose an adult life, but a child- who's life has barely begun- is gut-wrenching.

"You guys got the little girl out, right?" Deeks asked quietly a little fearful of the answer.

Kensi smiled at him. "It wasn't easy, the door was locked, but Callen kicked the door open..."

::

_Kensi had approximately three seconds between Callen deciding he was going to charge out there and the moment he did it. In those three seconds she had to decide what she was going to do. _

_Option 1: Stay safely inside of the room and hope that Callen (injured as he was) could manage to take on three men knowing at least one was armed with a gun. Staying inside had the benefit of keeping her from bodily harm, and if Callen was... killed... she might be put in the room with the girl long enough to figure out a way to escape safely. _

_Option 2: Go in with a bang. Take on the bad guys head on just like Callen was choosing to do. Put the fighting techniques that Callen, Sam and Macy had taught her to the ultimate test, because she knew this would be a fight to the death. _

_Kensi had never killed anyone. She thought she could do it but in those seconds she wondered... if she got a hold of the gun... could she pull the trigger?_

_His powerful kick had bashed open the door splintering the aged wood around where the deadbolt was. He moved so fast and she followed instinctively, he was right, that little girl was just a child and needed to be protected. _

_She made a mental note that Callen had gone after Slavko Pike first and she went after the new man in the group, the mercenary went after Callen. She held her own until she heard a sickening crack at the exact moment Callen let out a pained howl. She turned to look at him and noted the way the bone in his right arm was poking at his skin creating a bump that made her feel sick. "G!" _

_She was kicked in the stomach and it was followed by a vicious blow to the head that had her seeing stars._

::

"There has to be a part where all this gets better," Nell broke in when Kensi paused for a breath. "I know that you two are sitting here, and we know that the little girl made it out okay." Nell had analysed correctly the significance of the timing for Kensi's smile.

Kensi was a friend, and it hurt Nell to hear what she and Callen had gone through. It was strange to know that her closest female friend had slept with her current boyfriend- no matter the circumstances_. _She wouldn't, or couldn't hold it against either of them, it was years before she had ever met either of them, besides it wasn't like they had, had much of a choice. Nell knew that it must have been incredibly hard for both of them, and their relationship. Bad enough to go through that, but to have to see that person everyday, constantly reminded of what you have gone through. Nell admired the strength of their friendship, their bond that managed to hold strong despite it all.

"The part where you guys get safe is soon right?" Nell whispered looking up at Callen.

He noticed the way her eyes glinted with unshed tears. "Yeah, after the Mercenary broke my right arm, I didn't have much of a choice but to fight with my left..."

::

_Callen had always hated the training exercises that added a 'handicap.' Hetty would sometimes decide one needed to be blindfolded, or have your hands cuffed together, or some other kind of 'handicap' that you might find yourself in trouble with in the field. There was one exercise that had your dominant hand- in Callen's case, his right- tied to your waist. You can't fight with it for the sparing match, you have to rely on your more uncoordinated side. He hated it because his partner was Sam and having Sam for a sparing partner was already a 'handicap.' _

::

Sam laughed. "You're right, you can't take me with both arms."

"Shut up," Callen responded with a smile. "I can so."

"Can not," Sam muttered.

"That's adorable," Deeks said with a grin and it had Kensi giggling.

"So what happened?" Nell pried desperate to find out how it all ends.

"Well, I was thankful in those moments because I could use my left hand fairly well by that point, and better yet, my opponent wasn't Sam..."

::

_Callen jumped back trying to block out the pain but if he kept this up for much longer the pain was going to be blacking him out. He ducked and dodged and quickly disarmed Pike and with out thought he relied on his training and absolute desperation to get out of the mess. With a solid grip on the gun, and even left handed he aimed it in a split second with deadly accuracy and shot Slavko Pike in the torso, and then the Mercenary and then the unknown man. _

"_You okay?" he moved slowly to Kensi dropping to his knees unable to stay on his feet any longer. "You need to check them..." _

"_Callen, you don't look so good..." _

::

"He blacked out," Kensi said. "One second he was kneeling next to me, next his forehead is hitting the floor."

"You mean you didn't catch me?" Callen glared at her. "You were sitting right next to me! I thought that bump on my head was from the fight."

She glared back. "You dropped like a stone, probably 'cause you have such a hard head."

"Which apparently came in handy," Callen shot back with a little smile.

Her lips twitched but she kept a straight face. "Yeah, well with you blacked out I had to find the girl who'd hid during the gunfire."

::

_She'd been afraid. So scared when he'd just dropped out like that. He'd looked fine and then CONK! Out like a light. She'd checked his pulse and finding it she let out a sigh, she went to clear the men but heard the sobbing of the little girl and forgot about the men, after all, Callen had been the one shooting surely they were dead. _

"_Hey," Kensi said softly as she came to a stop just outside of a closet where the sobbing was emanating from. "My name is Kensi, I'm here to help you." _

_There was sniffling, and then the little girl spoke in a foreign tongue. Kensi sent a look at Callen, he'd been the agent with the language skills, she beat herself up again. She opened the door, "I'm going to take you to your mommy and daddy." _

_The girl's eyes brightened. "Dada!" _

"_Yes, I'll take you to your dada." The girl launched herself wrapping her arms around Kensi. She needed to get the girl safe and away from the bodies._

::

"So I hot wired a car and put the girl in it and went back for Callen..." Kensi dropped off and bit her thumbnail in apprehension. "The blood had gone through the bandages, whatever had scabbed over had re-opened during the fight and when I tried to move him I felt the blood. His arm looked really bad. I... I got so caught up in trying to get them both the hell out of there I... I let protocol fall to the side. I never checked the men."

"Slavko Pike survived," Callen said with heated anger.

"I just drove to the hospital, which was another hell all on it's own. I'm trying to talk to them in English, tell them what happened to Callen but... they only speak Bosnian, Serbian or Croatian. I had to call either Macy or Hetty..."

::

"_Hetty," Kensi breathed as the woman answered cheerfully. _

"_Kensi, how is the mission going, have you found out what it is Slavko Pike is using to fund the terrorist activity?" _

_Kensi's breath caught. She seen the way she and Callen were together, it was a lot like watching a mother with her eldest son. How was she to tell Hetty that Callen was not only injured but unconscious. She looked to Callen on the gurney as he started to move and wake thrashing and pushing the doctors away. "Oh my God," she dropped her phone and ran over pushing the doctor's away and getting into Callen's view, she placed her hands on his chest, "it's going to be okay Callen, I'm going to get you help." And damn it, she'd explain this to the doctors using charades if it would get them to help him. _

"_Medical files," he said in a awfully weak voice, "they'll need access to my full medical files." _

_Kensi knew he was trying to keep calm, keep strong for her but she could see the pain in his eyes outlined with fear. "Hetty," she turned and ran back to her phone picking it up and running back, luckily it was still on. _

"_Miss Blye! Kensi! Answer me! What is going on?" _

"_I'm here, Callen's in the hospital, he was freaking out when the doctor's got near him, he calmed when he seen me." Kensi replied. "I screwed up Hetty. I screwed up bad." She had to admit to her mistakes the guilt was ripping on her insides hollowing her out. She stroked the top of Callen's head with a gentleness she didn't even know she still had in her, he'd fallen back into unconsciousness. All things considered, perhaps that was best. "He said something before he passed back out, his medical files, he said the doctors would need access to his full medical files." _

_She heard Hetty hum on the other end, "I understand, I'll have Eric put them on Branimir Jankovic's files." She was quiet for a moment before speaking in a low and tender manner. "Are you alright dear." _

_Kensi Blye wanted to be an agent, and there was only one way to be an agent at NCIS Office of Special Projects; and that was to be seen, and reviewed as a highly effective agent by Henrietta Lange so Kensi wanted to say she was okay, she wanted to tell Hetty that she had done everything possible, she wanted to tell her about the little girl who was now being checked out by the doctors. She didn't want to admit weakness. _

_Her response however had been; "No, no I'm not okay. Callen is bleeding, he was stabbed and a man broke his arm and it's awful and sticking up poking under his skin and... and the things that man made us..." her voice broke completely as an awful keening sound escaped through her lips and she slid to the floor. "I really screwed up Hetty. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." _

"_Kensi, I need you to calm down," Hetty's tone was light, comforting and it had Kensi wiping her tears and her nose with the back of her hand. "I need you to give the phone to the doctor so I can explain Callen's situation." _

_Kensi managed to get to her feet and numbly handed the phone to the nearest doctor, she didn't know what language was spoken of the three official languages and it didn't matter because she couldn't understand any of them. She stood vigil by Callen's side praying there would come a day where she would get to make it up to him. _

::

"Hetty flew in," Kensi said, "honestly I think I just sat there in the waiting room til she came. Even if the doctors did come back with information, I couldn't understand them." She tried to keep her emotions under check but she was blinking quickly and looking skyward trying to keep the water gathering in her eyes from falling. "She sat with me, I told her... absolutely everything and then... when Callen was well enough we flew back to Los Angeles and had a meeting with Macy... and hid everything."

"We also had a series of evaluations with Nate, strictly off our files- unless something turned up that couldn't be ignored," Callen said. "We; Hetty, Macy, Nate, Kensi and I came to the conclusion that these events could cause us our careers... so... we hid it."

"How well?" Nell asked as she suddenly shot out of her seat and back to the section of seats with belts and came back a moment later with her bag she sat back down between Callen and Sam. She dug through the bag and pulled out a file placing it on Callen's lap.

Callen swallowed hard and opened it, a picture of Kensi pushing away the shirt he'd been wearing, while in that tiny silver dress. He picked it up and turned it for her to see. "Oh my God," she whispered fearfully. "How... how?"

"The video cameras in the room," Callen responded with equal horror in his voice. "It's a screen shot." He looked over at Nell. "You get this from Granger?"

"Yeah," she responded in a whisper.

"I didn't even think about the cameras," Kensi said. "How... how did the footage...Granger, he saw the footage!" She put her hands over her face. "Oh my God, oh my God." Both Callen and Kensi were in a panic, Kensi verbally freaking out while Callen sat with a wide eyed look completely gone.

"Kensi, it's okay," Deeks attempted to soothe, his hand rubbing circles on her back.

"The Assistant Director of NCIS saw Callen and I..." Kensi cut herself off and let out a angry huff. "Everything is far from fine."

"Second we get on the ground, we need to call Eric and Hetty," Callen said. "We need them to know... we need Hetty to find that footage and destroy it... before it destroys both of us."


	8. Chapter 8

Recap: **"Second we get on the ground, we need to call Eric and Hetty," Callen said, "we need them to know... we need Hetty to find that footage and destroy it... before it destroys both of us." **

::

There was an announcement from the pilot, it was time to get locked back into their seats for descent. The story/ briefing had been a good distraction for Nell- never a fan of flying. She tightened her seatbelt for the third time and Callen chuckled. "You're locked in," he assured as he gripped the metal buckle and gave it a hard pull. It didn't budge. She nodded but held the end of the belt in her hand tightly and shut her eyes. Callen's hand took hers, the one that had knuckles turning white on the arm rest. His thumb ran over her hand and she opened one eye and peered over at him. He was looking over at her contently and smiled when she opened her eyes. "We're going to be on the ground soon Nell."

"Yeah, but then we're going after Slavko Pike... a man you shot, that doesn't exactly fill me with high hopes for this trip."

"Well, he didn't shoot me."

"He had you chained up inside a toll booth and nearly eaten by rats."

"True," Callen accepted the rebuttal as he felt the wheels of the plain hitting the ground. "But I made it."

She tightened her grip on his hand. "Well you better make it this time."

::

Deeks wanted to say something but Kensi was looking pensive as the plane landed and he didn't want to disrupt her deep thoughts. Perhaps she was in the middle of some great epiphany and if he interrupted she'd be angry with him all day. Angry Kensi he could handle, he also had found out he could handle Vengeful Kensi... but Angry Vengeful Kensi, he wasn't so sure and didn't want to try his luck.

She still looked to be deep in her own mind as they unbuckled grabbed their gear from the storage and headed off the plane. "So, where do we start?" Deeks asked as they walked along the tarmac since they had landed on a private airstrip.

"We need to get into Sarajavo, it's where Slavko Pike lives," Nell said starting up her tablet and linked back up to home base.

Eric's face filled her screen and he smiled when she popped up. "Nell! How was the flight."

She looked to the rest of her teammates who had gone inside the building to sign the documentation for the cars they were picking up. She leaned against the building. "It was fine... I know what happened... in Bosnia."

"Including why Kensi was pushing off Callen's shirt?" Eric asked with an arched eyebrow. "I still can't think of a good reason. Was there one? Are you okay?"

She smiled at him, Eric was such a good friend. "I'm okay, and there was a good reason...or a bad one, it depends on how you look at things."

"If you're a glass half full or half empty," Callen said and she jumped and put a hand over her heart.

"You scared me!"

"Sorry," he walked over and peered at Eric over Nell's shoulder. "I need to talk to Hetty, tell her to give you the full details on the Bosnia Incident, doesn't seem right that you're the only one who doesn't know."

"I'll call her up," Eric said.

A few minutes later Hetty's face was filling the screen, "Mr Callen, Miss Jones I hope all is well."

"We just landed," Callen filled in. He picked up the photo and held it in front of the tablet's camera. "We have problems."

"Yes," Hetty agreed. "I figured as much when Owen was sending you back."

"How much does he know?" Callen questioned.

"I'm working on it," Hetty assured. "I promised you and Kensi that I'd keep what happened in Bosnia... in Bosnia. Granger might know but I will protect the two of you."

Callen made an indecisive noise in his throat, and Nell didn't figure he even knew he did it, the only reason she heard it was because she was leaning back right into his chest. Finally he spoke. "It's the Assistant Director... he was looking specifically into this incident. How did he find out?"

"I'll find out Mr Callen. You work on ending Pike's arms deals."

"And in the end, if I end Pike?" Callen wanted to know.

"Than the world will be better off," Hetty replied.

::

"It's a nice hotel," Nell said. "I like the architecture." She sat down at the desk and hooked up her laptop. She looked over at Callen who she had driven over with. "You're leaving," she guessed. "Aren't you." She knew the agent long enough to notice the little things, especially since she'd spent so much time recently analysing every little thing he did.

"Yes," he replied. "Sam is going to be coming up to sit with you."

"I don't need a babysitter," Nell argued logging in.

"It's hard to be here." Callen admitted and the fact that he was caught her full attention. "Back in Bosnia. Back in this hotel. Back to work the same streets for the same guy who..." he sat down on the bed and she came to sit next to him, so close their legs touched. "This job is going to be hard enough, and I can't do it if you're here alone. I wouldn't leave this room and leave you alone here to do the job, I couldn't."

"Okay..." she agreed easily enough. "But you're taking Deeks, right?"

"Yeah," Callen responded with a nod of his head. "Kensi's going to need her partner."

"Won't you need Sam?" Nell studied his profile. "He's your partner. I'm going to be safe in a locked room. You're going to be out looking for Pike."

He could all to easily imagine Pike coming into the room... what might he try on Nell. Suddenly the bruises on Kensi's wrists were at the forefront of his mind. "Like I said, I won't leave you here alone. Not with that sadistic son-of-a-bitch still out there." Callen looked over at her and touched her face in a gentle caress before kissing her lightly on the lips pulling away before he got sucked in. He had a job to do.

He stood and waited by the door for the rest of the team while Nell sat up.

Within ten minutes they'd worked out a basic game plan. Nell tracked the use of Pike's cell phone. Callen, Kensi, Deeks and Sam all checked their guns.

"You sure about this G?" Sam asked. He didn't like the fact that Callen wanted to go it alone, but he also understood his desire to protect Nell. Would he be able to leave Michelle in a room like this in a place where horrors haunted his mind to stop a criminal?

"Of course," Callen responded with confidence. "See you guys soon."

Nell stood by Sam as the door closed behind the other three. "Give them five minutes head start before you follow."

"G will be pissed," Sam said slowly.

"Let him be then!" Nell said with a shrug. "I'd rather have him pissed and alive then secure and dead. Slavko Pike is a nut job who runs guns, wherever they try and take him down... it's going to end in a firefight. They're going to need you Sam."

"Will you be okay?"

She pulled out a small six shooter and tilted it back and forth with a grin, "I'll be just fine Sam."


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you to everyone who has read, left a review, faved or added an alert to this story :) I really appreciate it! Love, Light, and enjoy the story!**

RECAP: **"Let him be then!" Nell said with a shrug. "I'd rather have him pissed and alive then secure and dead. Slavko Pike is a nut job who runs guns, wherever they try and take him down... it's going to end in a firefight. They're going to need you Sam." **

"**Will you be okay?" **

**She pulled out a small six shooter and tilted it back and forth with a grin, "I'll be just fine Sam."**

::

Nell ensured that the chain was locked, and the deadbolt was in place. After all she was a city savvy woman who worked for NCIS Office of Special Projects she wasn't some idiot who wouldn't lock her door. She covered her mouth as she yawned and hoped the coffee maker hurried up. Her fingers danced over the keys on her laptop, and Eric kept her company on her tablet propped up on the wall.

"One of Pike's suspected associates Alec Morven was taken down last month by Sarajavo police," Eric said. "He said in the interrogation that he was to be meeting with Slavko Pike later today, six pm for an arms deal."

"Any chance that he and Pike have never met?"

Eric smiled on screen. "Morven always sends someone else to do his dirty work, so there is a good chance that Pike has never seen Morven. Morven was busted when he was high as a kite off cocaine... tried to buy more off an undercover police officer. He gave the information on Pike to cut a deal."

"Is Sarajavo PD going to do a raid?"

"That is their intention," Eric replied.

Nell's computer beeped and she turned her attention back to it. "One of my searches got a hit." She clicked on it and opened the files and then checked local time. "Pike just made a phone call," Nell informed Eric. "It's twenty to six and he isn't anywhere near where Sarajavo police will be doing the raid."

"Where is he then?" Eric questioned.

Nell brought up a series of maps. "The warehouse district."

"He owns a warehouse," Eric informed her.

Since the team had been following the first track of the cell phone which had only been a few blocks from where it was now she knew the team was already closing in and would need a more exact location. She called Sam first.

"I'm not tailing G, I took a different way. He's too paranoid not to spot me." He didn't bother with formalities, the flow of information was more important than, 'hey how's the weather.'

Nell smiled just a little bit, she figured paranoia in this line of business was healthy and if it kept Callen alive, all the better. "That's fine, I just wanted to call you with an update on the location, Pike is inside of warehouse 232. He owns it, and it likely is where he stores his arms."

Sam let out a whistle, "I'm already in the warehouse district and if his place is the size of any of the ones I've seen... finding him is going to be a needle in a haystack."

"Eric says that one of Pike's associates informed the police of their being a buy."

"At the warehouse?" Sam asked.

"No," Nell shook her head as she spoke. "It's been moved..." Which had Nell questioning why it would be moved if Pike didn't know who Morven was, or more specifically that Morven had talked to police.

"Hmm," Sam was quiet for a minute. "Maybe there is a cop involved."

Nell had been thinking the same thing. "It's a possibility." Or... "Maybe Pike has someone who's really good with computers keeping an eye on things for him."

"Also a possibility," Sam replied. "I just drove by 232 and am going to park a bit down the road, do the others know?"

"I wanted you to be the first, I'm sending the information to their phones as we speak. Good luck."

"Thanks, see you later Nell."

The line disconnected and now Nell had to sit there and wait.

::

Deeks read out the information from Nell since Callen was driving and Kensi was looking out the car window her hands in such tight fists he was sure her nails were leaving little crescent indents in her palm.

He was sitting in the backseat like some small child, and was far too tall for such a thing, he wished Callen had rented something a little roomier... or at least Kensi could move her seat up a bit so he could have some leg room rather than having them practically folded back into his chest. He didn't dare voice either opinion. Both looked homicidally angry, focussed in their mission and he could understand. This mission had been a burden they'd been carrying for years. The emotional turmoil that they had waded in as opposed to talking about it. Deeks wasn't particularly surprised, having Kensi as his partner he knew she didn't talk much about herself, and Callen was practically the poster boy for 'international man of mystery.'

He took his gun out of the holster tucked away in the back of his jeans and checked Barretta and put it back, his feet were jumping and his nerves were getting to him. Not that he was nervous to be in a firefight, quite the opposite in a firefight he was relaxed, focussed. Usually he was okay before too, but this one... this was personal.

They were going after a man who had attempted sexual assault on Kensi, _his Kensi_. There was an undercurrent of anger rushing through him, it didn't matter that this had all gone down so many years ago, it was new to him, and since having to tell everyone on the plane he knew it was fresh in both Callen and Kensi's minds.

"Slow down," Kensi said, her voice quiet and controlled, "we're getting close."

::

The second Callen had jammed the gearshift into park Kensi was had her seatbelt unfastened and was opening the car door. The air was filled with unidentifiable work scents, metallic. The sounds of machinery weren't completely muffled by the buildings.

"If this is a buy, why haven't we seen any cars?" Deeks asks stepping out and taking a moment to stretch out his full frame.

"Might be around back," Kensi suggests taking out her gun and revelling in the familiar security of the weight.

This was old business, it was personal and he understood why both Kensi and Callen looked ready to just walk across the street bust open the door and kill anyone who moves but... "Let me take a look in first."

"What?" Kensi shot a look at him and Callen looked at him questioningly.

"If I get caught I tell them I'm Alec Morven, any luck they've never met face to face." Deeks explains. "You can't tell me that there is nothing wrong with this picture." The detective looked around, "it's quiet."

"No it isn't," Kensi replied, the screech of metal being cut was like nails on a chalk board and it wasn't helping her nerves.

"No, ignore those noises, they're suppose to be here." Deeks gestured to the road and walked out into the middle of it. "Where the hell is everyone if there is suppose to be a buy? I get that this is personal, but... we still have to be smart about it."

Kensi felt as if she was that same probationary agent she had been when she first came to Bosnia. Deeks wasn't patronising her, but his words still made her feel like a child. "You're right," Kensi gave a nod.

"You two go around the right side, I'll go around the left and we'll meet at the back," Callen decided thankful for Deeks's clear thinking. Deeks was right, this was personal and it was playing with Callen's head. Callen gave his head a shake, checked his gun for the third time and started across the street.

::

Sam heard footsteps and ducked down behind a car and waited.

"Clear," Kensi's voice.

"Clear," Callen replied and there was a huff of annoyance. "Three cars, not much of an arms deal."

"Or a few select clientele," Deeks shot back with a shrug. He'd learned over the years that the first answer wasn't always the right answer. "Maybe we should just peek in."

"There are no windows," Kensi argued back.

"I'll open the door."

"I wouldn't," Sam poked his head up unable to keep quiet anymore. "Eric just shot me a text, one of the guys that work for Pike is a bomb maker." As if on cue everyone else's phones started going off. First Callen's then Deeks's and finally a few seconds later Kensi's.

Callen looked at the message, read it, and then read it again. Sam knew what Callen was actually doing though as he stared at the phone. Callen was doing everything in his power not to shoot Sam.

"She's not a little girl G."Sam said in a calm voice hoping that his partner would see reason. "She can take care of herself. She's armed, and she locked the deadbolt and chain after I left."

"When did I stop being the Special Agent in Charge?" Callen asked glaring at Sam and shoving his phone angrily into the pocket of his zip-up hoodie.

"You didn't, G..."

"I gave an order Sam," Callen's voice was kept quiet due to them not knowing who was inside the warehouse but then again Callen had never needed to yell to sound angry, in fact, calm deadly low voiced Callen was far more frightening. "I expected you...I trusted you to follow it."

_Trust. _The words dug home for Sam, it was hard for Callen to trust anyone but he had deliberately gone against his partner and superior's orders, worse, he'd gone against friends request after making a promise. "We're going against an arm dealer, you're going to need all the firepower you can get." Sam replied carefully. "You're risking Kensi and Deeks by going with just the three of you. We work in partnerships for a reason G, it works."

Callen wasn't about to give an inch, he never did when he believed he was right. "Nell says that Slavko is in there, or someone using his phone is. This doesn't look like a buy, doesn't feel like one either." He and Sam would have the rest of this conversation at a more appropriate time and both men knew this was far from over.

"Pretty elaborate," Sam said.

"Yeah," Callen said softly.

"The only reason someone would set up a plan this elaborate," Kensi let out a soft breath of air. "Is if he knew we were already here."

::

"He seems to have a specialist for everything," Eric said.

"Which means it would be logical if he had a tech operator," Nell said looking at her partner on screen and longed for the familiar security of the light blue glow of the Ops Centre.

"True, but if he does, I can't find him... or her."

Nell chewed on her lip and did circles in her chair as she thought. Her feet stomped down on the ground and she wheeled up close to the tablet. "Eric! Run a search where we landed, we had to go through a small private airport to get to the car rental area."

"What are you thinking Nell?" He asked but she could see the intense focus on his face and knew despite not knowing why he was searching for her. "Wow, the security on this is so five years ago... hey it's you... and the rest of the team."

"Can you find out if anyone used say... facial recognition on those feeds?"

Eric looked intense for a moment. "Yes, and the answer is also yes... Nell," he looked directly into the camera and despite the miles that separated them she felt the worry roll off him. "Someone programmed it to look for Kensi and Callen."

Three taps on the door and Nell froze and swallowed hard she shot a worried look at Eric and grabbed her gun, quickly checking it and taking off the safety as she walked silently toward the door.


	10. Chapter 10

RECAP: **Three taps on the door and Nell froze and swallowed hard she shot a worried look at Eric and grabbed her gun, quickly checking it and taking off the safety as she walked silently toward the door. **

::

"Owen. A word."

Granger sighed disdainfully but sat across from Hetty. "Yes Henrietta?"

"Don't play daft with me Owen," Hetty replied with a false calm. "We've known each other a long time. You know exactly to which matter I intend to speak."

"You want to know why, or more specifically how I found out about this little incident in Bosnia." Granger responded with ease and he took a casual look around, the hive was buzzing with activity. No rest for the wicked and all. Assured no one was listening in he turned his attention back to the Dutchess of Deception. "I received a package. Inside was a DVD and a letter saying there were more copies where it came from." Hetty's eyebrows nearly reached her bangs at in light of this new information, which was no small feat. "I'm guessing from your reaction you know exactly what is on that tape." Granger leaned forward his voice low as he spoke. "I don't care that you hid it Hetty, if I had agents like that working for me, I'd hide it too. Hell... it wasn't even that they had done something wrong. Shit happens on OPS, we all know and accept that. The fact is though is that the gossip mill would have gotten a hold of it. Kensi would have been done, she might have held on like a pit bull knowing her... or she might have wanted to put the whole mess behind her- it wouldn't have mattered because superiors would have tossed her aside. I don't even know if Callen would have managed to keep his job, his illustrious career."

Hetty's eyes narrowed. "You think Slavko Pike did this?"

"Callen shot him, he and Kensi got away. The man is sick and deluded. According to his medical files, he doesn't have much time left. Cancer. I think he wants them back for one more of his little games. I'm sure he would have rather sent the video to Callen or Kensi themselves, but... they both live under aliases."

"And is this one of your games?"

"Actions have repercussions Hetty." Granger said. "You're lucky I didn't just forward it to SecNav. Callen and Blye need to deal with this. They need to end it. I won't say anything to the Leon, your team is going to end this. One way or another." Granger stood and left leaving Hetty with an unbalanced feeling.

::

Nell took a deep breath in and held it to keep from hyperventalating. It couldn't possibly be Callen, or Sam or even Kensi or Deeks. They were too far away to have gotten back to the hotel by now. Besides they were probably still checking out the warehouse, she had yet to hear otherwise. She thought briefly about just keeping quiet, and hoping whoever was at the door had the wrong room number and would move on.

The knocking became louder, more insistent.

She looked to her gun and then quickly walked back to the desk and whispered to Eric. "Get Hetty to call the hotel, tell them to send security to my room." She'd call herself, if she knew any of the official dialects, but sadly they were beyond her realm.

He nodded, looked tense and disappeared from the screen.

For the first time she felt truly alone.

Nell looked over at the door as it sounded like it was getting kicked. She had nearly jumped out of her skin.

If she were an agent, she'd walk over to the door, tuck the gun in the back of her pants and open the door. She could try and play it off, or launch into an attack, or automatically deflect one if need be- she knew the different scenarios, after all, she watched special agents for a living.

She wasn't an agent though. She was Nell Jones, Intelligence Analyst. So she analysed the situation. There was an attacker outside of her door. Possibly more than one. She sat down putting the gun on the desk in easy reach as her fingers moved over the keys with precision. She hacked the hotel's security feed as she heard wood splintering and got the feed for her hallway at the same time she picked up her phone and called Callen putting him on speaker.

"Nell? What's wrong?"

"Why do you say something is wrong?" She asked unable to stop herself. She wanted him to see her as confident, competent. She didn't want to be calling for help, and she knew realistically she wasn't. They wouldn't get to her in time. She was calling to inform them that there was a man breaking down the door, not because they could help her but because they needed to be informed of potential enemies and that was her job. To inform.

"Do I hear someone at your door? Is someone kicking down the door?" There was an unfamiliar edge of panic to Callen's voice.

"Oh that... yeah. Two men actually I have the security feed on my screen, sending everyone screen shots...now." She hit the send button and jumped as the wood around the deadbolt gave way but the chain held the door. She grabbed her gun with both hands and focussed on remembering her training.

"We're on our way," Callen said and she could hear the acceleration of whatever vehicle he was in.

"I know," she said softly hearing the men outside her door speak a foreign language. "Security should be on their way by now."

"Sam said you had a gun."

"I do," she responded keeping it trained on the door as she kept her distance. "I know how to shoot too. Callen, Eric and I discovered that there was a facial recognition program installed onto pretty much all airports in and around Sarajavo. All of them looking for an image of you or Kensi."

"Understood," Callen's voice was tight. "You got this Nell."

The chain snapped and she sure as hell hoped he was right.

::

Eric felt like throwing up. Never in all of his time working for the Office of Special Projects had a operation made him physically sick, but if any case was going to do it, it was this one. Not only had Hetty left him with the full incident report from Bosnia, the one Callen told Hetty to brief him on- like that wasn't enough... now his partner was in a room with men beating down the door.

"Hetty!" Eric took the stairs down two at a time and jumped four to the landing and the last four from their to the ground floor. "Hetty!"

"Eric," her voice was taut; it was clear to her that something was gravely wrong. Eric rarely left the Ops Centre, only doing so when he needed a coffee break, to use the facilities, to give information to the team in the bullpen, or to leave for the night. He rarely spoke loudly, and wasn't much of a runner. So him bolting down the stairs, nearly breaking a leg while doing so, shouting her name with such a panicked edge... it wore on her. "What's happened?"

"Someone is trying to break into Nell's hotel room," Eric explained quickly. "She doesn't speak-"

"I understand," Hetty interrupted calling the Hotel Central and asking in Bosnian to be transferred to security.

The phone rang.

And rang.

And rang.

"Someone has taken out the security personnel," Hetty said slamming the received down as she flipped through her Rolodex and dialled quickly. "Werner, transfer me to Sarajavo PD. Closest precinct to the Hotel Central." There was a minute passing and Hetty's eyes shut, it was all taking too long.

Sometimes that was the hardest thing. Waiting. Unable to do anything. Waiting to find out either way if your agent was going to make it, or if you'd be going to the morgue to identify the body.

Her eyes flew open as a man answered the phone, she spoke quickly and concisely explaining who she was, who she worked for, and where they needed to get pronto _or else_. And she would follow through on that _or else_, because it was Miss Jones. Intelligence Analyst.

Eric ran back to the ops centre Hetty following quickly behind. Eric had a video feed and Hetty was praying for Nell's safety.

::

"This is why I never let him drive!" Sam grabbed the 'oh-shit-bar' as Callen yanked on the e-brake causing the tail portion of the car to spin before he slammed it back into place and took off wheels burning rubber.

Deeks who with Sam was also sitting in the back seat looked un-affected by Callen's driving techniques. "You haven't ridden with Kensi, have you?" He asked with a smirk.

"I heard that!" Kensi turned in her seat to glare at her partner. "And I am a great driver!"

"Not even close," Callen responded with a smirk.

Kensi turned her glare to Callen. "How do you not give yourself car sickness? My driving isn't nearly as erratic as yours!"

"I'm the one in control," Callen responded and figured the reason for his car sickness wasn't so much that Kensi was a _bad_ driver. She wasn't, she was an aggressive driver, but controlled- she knew how to handle car chases, how to ditch a tail, you can't master either by being a bad driver. Though he wouldn't say she was a good driver either, no finesse, she was stuck on aggressive. No, the car sickness was likely because he had absolutely no control and was stuck as passenger. This is why he only rode with Sam, Sam was his partner whom he trusted with his life. Not that he didn't trust Kensi, but... again, she was aggressive. Sam always drove like a dad, like his kids were in the back seat.

He was glad for the banter, it was keeping him sane. Between that and the car pushing far past legal limits he couldn't think about Nell, not with out endangering the lives of his team members.

"These guys look mean," Deeks said looking at the screen shot Nell had sent on his phone. He figured them to be on the taller side of average, which would still be super tall to Nell. One was stocky, dark hair, and from the picture Deeks would guess a forty five in his hand. The other was a dark blond, lanky build and a look in his eyes... "They look like pros."

"How do you figure from that blurry shot?"

"Guns for hire, they just look it," Deeks had worked in LA long enough to be able to spot guns for hire. Seriously. It was a little bit of profiling, and a little bit of just a gut feeling. "Besides here they are trying to break down Nell's door. I doubt they're going to be delivering tea and cookies." Deeks responded as his seatbelt locked and everyone jerked forward when Callen slammed on the breaks to avoid a car and pressed on the horn not letting up for a full five seconds all while cursing in a multitude of languages.

"Keep it on the road G!" Sam said.

"He didn't stop at the stop sign!" The car was already lurching forward under the hard press on the gas.

"Neither did you," Kensi pointed out.

"Nell," was all he said and she understood.

"She'll be okay," Kensi reassured.

"It's fucking Bosnia!" Callen nearly yelled as his emotional tether snapped. Everyone has their breaking point, clearly this was his. "Do not tell me anything will be fine in this fucking city!"

"G," Sam started quietly placing his hand on Callen's shoulder.

"Don't you say a word Sam." Callen replied heatedly as he pulled in at the front door of the Hotel Central. "She wouldn't be in this mess if you had just stayed where I ordered you to!" He was out of the door and in the hotel before anyone else had even gotten out of their seatbelts.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you to everyone who has read/reviewed/alerts/faved the story!**

**Happy Birthday to MichieRae, who for said birthday, requested a double update, this is the first, next one will be up in the afternoon when I'm done work. Love, Light and happy reading :)**

RECAP: "**Don't you say a word Sam." Callen replied heatedly as he pulled in at the front door of the Hotel Central. "She wouldn't be in this mess if you had just stayed where I ordered you to!" He was out of the door and in the hotel before anyone else had even gotten out of their seatbelts.**

::

Paper targets.

Nell Jones had only ever fired on paper targets.

Paper targets had circles that dictated where to shoot, and you always aimed for the red one in the centre. Always shoot for centre mass. That is what her instructor had taught. Don't go for a complicated knee shot, don't go to shoot the gun from your attackers hand. Sure, those are less likely to be kill shots, but you want to survive. When in a real life scenario shoot for the torso, biggest target.

She could easily recall the paper targets. The black outline of a person down to the knees where the paper cut off. Wide circle in the chest, smaller and smaller to the red circle to practice precision. She shot _well enough_ to pass her course. _Well enough_ wasn't good. _Well enough _wasn't exceptional. _Well enough _was... well... _well enough_. She could shoot. She could pass her little training course, but she didn't waste time with things she couldn't perfect. She had other areas of expertises that needed constant training and study time, she didn't bother with spending time at the firing range. She wished that she had now as the door slammed back against the wall and she faced down two large men with very big guns.

It was strange. Time didn't slow like she thought it might. Instead the adrenaline seemed to make it pick up.

She was a woman who thought everything through down to the very last microscopic detail. It was her nature. This was a scenario that required a lack of thought, it required intuition, it required an _immediate reaction_.

Firing a gun is such a simple process. It's a movement of a finger, almost like clicking a mouse. Instead, just pull your finger back. That's it. Simple. Her heart hammered in her chest, and the second hung in the air the two men pointing their guns at her and she pointing her gun back at them.

For once in her life she didn't think it over. Didn't write up a pros and cons list.

Nell Jones pulled the trigger.

The gun kicked back in her hand and the recoil was something she'd forgotten about. She readjusted her stance and fired again, once, twice, three times.

She blinked letting out a breath, her ears rang and she swallowed hard.

One man was bleeding on the floor, the other no where in sight. If she was an agent, maybe she'd run to the man, clear his weapon, check a pulse and then look out into the hallway. She wasn't an agent though, and at the moment she didn't feel much like an intelligence analyst either. She couldn't think straight. She couldn't even remember how many times she had squeezed the trigger, she couldn't recall how many bullets she had left. She was alive. She'd survived, and was completely unscathed.

_Physically._

Her gun was still trained on the door, her eyes never leaving it her hands shook, her arms ached. A bead of fear driven sweat rolled down the back of her neck and her knees were shaking, if she wasn't in a gun stance they'd be knocking together.

She stood there unwavering. There were noises, people in the halls maybe... maybe Eric was back on the tablet... maybe... maybe... but she wouldn't look. Her hands were still trembling, the weight of the gun becoming to much, or maybe the weight of what she had just done.

Her eyes drifted to the man on the floor as they did periodically, was he dead? Was he just waiting and going to grab his gun and shoot her? Fear was rippling through her. Where the hell was the security staff? More importantly, where was Callen?

::

Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian was thrown around the lobby. People were leaving, rushing out. He heard some of the Serbs talking about a shooting. Panic struck him with a force he'd never felt before. He took the stairs two at a time unable to have the patience for the elevator and flew down the hall. People were peeking out of their doorways, but most were shut.

Only one door was open: Nell's.

He stepped into the doorway and was shocked by what he saw. First, his eyes went to Nell. Her gun was trained on him, she was in a stance for shooting it too. The gun was moving just slightly, erratically. Tears were in her eyes but she kept blinking them away to clear her vision. Second he noted the body on the floor, gun still in reach his agent training kicked in and out of habit alone he kicked the gun away and bent to check the pulse.

Dead.

He moved across the room and Nell kept her gun trained on him. He didn't fear her shooting him though. "It's okay, Nell." He whispered soothingly. "It's okay." He put his hand over the barrel of the gun and pushed it down. "It's okay." A mantra trying to get through to her, her eyes so blank, so gone into her own head. Shock. Survival mode.

His fingers moved over and clicked the safety on and took the gun from her placing it on the table. He could see on the tablet Hetty and Eric, hear their voices. "She's just been standing there for nearly five minutes," Hetty told him.

"I've got it," Callen replied putting the tablet on sleep mode. He grabbed Nell around the shoulders and pulled her into his chest. "It's okay Nell. You did what you had to. It was kill or be killed. You're okay. You did the right thing."

She let out a whimper and her hands came slowly to his chest and gripped the front of his shirt as an awful grieving sound escaped her lips and she completely came apart.

::

Sam, Kensi and Deeks had been right behind Callen and were now standing awkwardly in the doorway as Callen told Nell she did the right thing. As far as they could tell Nell was uninjured, but in their line of business that didn't mean unscathed. The mental toll of taking a life was a price they all paid to protect and serve their country. As field agents they expected to take hold of a gun in their day to day life, they expected to shoot, and be fired upon. Nell was an intelligence analyst, this was not what she had signed on for.

Sam was feeling terrible. It didn't matter that Nell had given her blessing and sent him on his way. She had been alone when two gunmen had come to the door. He was suppose to be there, Callen; not just his superior officer but his friend had ordered him to watch over her and he hadn't.

Callen and Nell didn't show affection for each other at work since their relationship had started they had managed to keep the office professional and no one cared what they did in their off time, so for all three field agents standing in the doorway this was the first time they'd seen the two embracing. They wished it were under better circumstances, ones that maybe they could rib at, make a joke, have a laugh. Nell was sobbing and Callen was holding her tightly whispering so low none of them could hear.

Kensi could lip read though. He was telling her that it was okay to cry, that it was okay to be upset, to let it all out. She turned away. _Fucking Bosnia_.

Nell let out a few shaky breaths. "I'm okay." Her voice spoke of a long and hard crying jag. "I'm okay." She said a little clearer. She was still shaking and she looked up at Callen. "I...I had to. He would have killed me."

"I know," his hands came up to cradle her face, his thumbs brushing away tears.

She processed the information. Shifted it. Sorted it. Put it away for later. She let out a few more shaky breaths. "I'm okay," she looked down at herself as if to assure she didn't have any bullet holes. "I'm okay." She looked up at Callen. "One of the men got away."

"We will find him."

Nell nodded twice and bit her lip worriedly her body pressing up against the warmth and security of Callen's. She looked to the doorway and to the body. "He's dead, right?"

"Yes."

Nell nodded again still chewing on her lip. She looked to the agents. "We need to move, this location is obviously not secure."

"Nell," Sam said quietly.

"Don't," she replied holding up a hand. "We both thought it was a good idea. The team was likely walking into a firefight. I was statistically likely to be safe." If nothing else Nell Jones was logical to a point, it was who she was in every fibre of her being. "We were wrong, but we'd make the same call again. You know it and I know it." She said it with such strength that no one dared to argue with her.

Callen sent Sam a meaningful hardened glare of his frosty blue eyes. Nell might have forgiven, but Callen clearly had not.

Nell's hand slipped into Callen's as she walked took the few steps over to the desk. He knew why, she wanted to be constantly reassured that he was there. He stepped to the side, switched hands in her hold and kept his chest pressed to her back, she momentarily leaned against him, her body still shaking a bit before she grabbed the tablet. She wiped her eyes and looked over her shoulder at Callen. "Do I look ridiculous?"

He shook his head. "But if you're wondering if your eyes are red and puffy though, that answer is yes."

"Damn it," she muttered rubbing them again only serving to make the problem worse. "You think they will notice?" She gestured to the tablet.

"Nell," his voice nothing more than a whisper. "They only care that you're safe." Callen replied.

She sighed and woke the tablet from sleep mode. "Hi." She was a bit talker, but that was all that she managed to get from her brain to her mouth.

"Are you alright Nell?" Eric looked about ready to put her through a quiz for shock but Hetty's hand on his shoulder tightened and their was a look of pained shock on Eric's face for a second before he glared over at Hetty.

"I'm okay Eric." Nell responded with a little determination. Like stating the fact so many times might make it true. If she said it with a little more _umpth_ maybe she'd believe it. She'd just shot and killed a man. Killed a human being. Shot him with her gun. Bang. One second that was all it took and a life was gone.

A hand tightened on her hip and Callen was so close that when he spoke warm air blew against her ear. "Hetty's been telling you we have to get out of the Hotel."

Nell shook the cobwebs from her mind and looked to the tablet where Hetty was staring at her, observing, analysing in her own way. Nell bit her lip. "Sorry."

"Quite alright dear," Hetty responded. "Mr Callen, get her out of there. Make contact when you're in a secure location."

"I will," Callen responded turning off the tablet. "Kensi, Deeks, pack up the electronics."

"Got it," Kensi responded she walked over and froze as she passed Nell. She opened her mouth and closed it a few times, Kensi never being one who was good with words. Instead she placed a hand on Nell's shoulder, squeezed it with what she hoped was reassurance and continued on her way.

Deeks stopped by Nell too. "It's never easy," he told her. "It's never suppose to be."

She nodded and appreciated both gestures, Deeks gave her a little lopsided grin and he was on his way. The sounds of her electronics being packed up faded as she looked over to where the Sarajavo PD was placing the man she'd shot in a body bag. Her stomach gave a nasty twist and she was either going to start hyperventilating or vomiting. Neither was an option she wanted to explore.

Callen stepped in front of her. "Don't look."

"I shot him G," she said quietly. "I killed that man."

"I know."

"All packed," Deeks announced and from the looks of it Kensi was using him as a pack mule with the way he had laptop/tablet/gear bags crisscrossed over his torso.

"We need to get out of here," Kensi said. She really wanted this to be over. She wanted to get out of Sarajavo. Out of Bosnia. For good. Once this mission was over she'd never return. Nothing good ever happened to her in Bosnia. Bosnia was bad luck.

Despite what Callen had said about not looking, looking was exactly what Nell did as she walked by. The corner zipped up the body bag but not before she got a good look at the man's face, one that would surely haunt her. Blood stained the tiles in the entrance way and she froze, almost as if in a trance. Callen's arm around the small of her back kept pressing forward and so she had no choice but to follow. He peered out into the hallway first before bringing her out.

Sam stood their a large, secure presence and Nell looked up at him and seeing the etchings of guilt upon his face she let go of Callen and hugged Sam. "It isn't your fault."

Sam was a little surprised by Nell, always was. She didn't move like you'd expect, for someone so small she sure was quick, efficient even. She didn't talk like they had expected either, quick, wit, and could take people down a peg with her intelligence. She didn't act like anyone had expected either, she was brilliant in her own right could have an ego to go with it, but she didn't she had a heart wide open which was rare in everyday life, but unheard of in their business.

Just because Nell was letting him off the hook, didn't mean he was letting himself off, or that Callen would either. Still he returned the hug for Nell but said looking at Callen over her head. "Yes, it was."


	12. Chapter 12

**I promised two for today. Consider that delivered! **

RECAP: **Sam stood their a large, secure presence and Nell looked up at him and seeing the etchings of guilt upon his face she let go of Callen and hugged Sam. "It isn't your fault." **

**Sam was a little surprised by Nell, always was. She didn't move like you'd expect, for someone so small she sure was quick, efficient even. She didn't talk like they had expected either, quick, wit, and could take people down a peg with her intelligence. She didn't act like anyone had expected either, she was brilliant in her own right could have an ego to go with it, but she didn't she had a heart wide open which was rare in everyday life, but unheard of in their business. **

**Just because Nell was letting him off the hook, didn't mean he was letting himself off, or that Callen would either. Still he returned the hug for Nell but said looking at Callen over her head. "Yes, it was." **

::

Deeks was going back to the car they had arrived in but Kensi had looped her arm around his and pulled him in another direction. "Where are we going?" He asked but the rest of the team was behind them, he looked back Callen had his arm over Nell's shoulders and looked protectively dangerous, no one around even dared look at them it was like he had a cloak of 'back-the-fuck-off' it was really quite awesome. Behind Nell and Callen was Sam keeping an eye out for a tail.

"We're going to get another car. We got that one at the rental place in the airport we arrived in. The one that had our faces," Kensi looked over at her partner. "It's possible that, that car is being watched out for."

"Ah," Deeks responded. "You're going to hot-wire some poor sucker's car."

"Pick your poison," she gestured to the lot.

"Really?" Deeks looked like a kid in a candy store and Kensi suppressed a grin. "I get to pick?"

"Yup."

"Any car I want?"

"Preferably one that doesn't have an alarm system, but yes."

"Sweet." She leaned against him and knew that the rest of the team was hanging back to wait, a couple going to their car, normal, a group- suspicious and worth a second glance. "Silver Buick Enclave," he said with a nod of his head slightly to the left.

"Why that one?" She asked, she didn't really care it would be easy enough she reached into her back pocket to pull out her tools.

"Leg room," Deeks responded simply. "A man has priorities."

She smiled. "I figured you might go for something crazy expensive and fast."

"Please, I don't get to drive when it's just us, I'd never get to drive here with Sam and Callen." Deeks said logically. "So if I have to be in the back seat, I want leg room." He watched her with interest as she popped the lock. She opened the door and crouched down a bit and Deeks couldn't help but cast an appreciative look over her body. No man could help that. The woman was the epitome of beauty. "So... how do you do that?"

"Hot-wire?" she questioned pulling down cords.

"Yeah."

"Well..." she continued working switching tool. "If you want to learn... I can teach you when we get back." She struck two wires together and there were sparks, she did it again and the car rumbled to life. "Ha, got it." She leaned back and found his body right behind hers she froze upon the contact.

"Impressive."

She could feel the rumble of the words in his chest and his warm breath on the back of her neck. It took everything in her not to shudder. "Yeah... well..." Kensi mentally gave herself a shake and pushed him back a bit.

He stumbled slightly with all the gear on him. "I think I'll take you up on that offer," he said and then added a big smirk and proceeded to sing the chorus of Van Halen's Hot for Teacher.

She couldn't even manage to glare at him, or swat him since he was already walking around to the back to store all the gear. She hit the unlock button on the inside and smiled. It amazed her, that even here, in Bosnia of all places that Deeks could still manage to make her smile.

::

Sam had ended up driving because Callen refused to get into the car while Kensi was in the drivers seat, which caused her to take offense and defend her driving skills, to which Callen could not help but shoot back that she didn't have any. Their banter caught Deeks into it when he defended Kensi saying Callen was just as bad and thus Deeks's driving abilities came into question but no one except Kensi could attest to them. There was a normalness to it. Not anyone elses idea of normal Nell was sure, but it was so normal, so... oddly soothing that she just leaned against Callen since they were in the back seat together on a bench seat. Kensi and Deeks sat in the middle but had separate seats and Sam sat in the front driving.

"Where to guys?" Sam asked finally breaking through the incessant banter.

A quite fell over everyone, which was odd. Someone was always talking... usually Deeks, Callen noted that the man had been overly quite, watchful even. The detective's blue eyes were studying Kensi, Callen's eyes followed and he too could see the tension in her body the way she sat a little straighter than normal, she was staring out the window watching the beads of rain that had started to fall slid down the glass. He then looked over to Nell who appeared to be in deep introspection, she seemed to have sensed his watching and turned her hazel eyes to him. "Did you say something?" She asked looking a little lost.

"No," he replied. "You okay?"

She was quiet for a moment before responding. "I'm not sure." She was still working through it all. She had shot the man to save her own life. He was probably some sort of mercenary that worked for Slavko Pike a man who had tormented Callen and Kensi. She had never prepared herself for shooting anyone, much less killing someone. She supposed if she didn't feel guilt she'd be a pretty rotten human being, but this guilt over a man who had tried to kill her seemed unfair.

"Anything I can do?" Callen asked.

She smiled at him and snuggled in to his warmth. "I'll let you know."

Sam pulled over to the side of the road. "We're running on a quarter tank, either we need to figure out where to go, or I need to get more gas."

"Take a left," Callen responded.

"Where we headed?" Kensi asked.

"A district of rentals, I know a guy who for enough cash will give us a furnished apartment, I don't feel like risking a hotel tonight," Callen responded.

"Wait..." Sam said looking in the rearview mirror at Callen. "You told me about a contact in Bosnia, it isn't Crazy Coskun is it?"

"So he's a little nuts," Callen said with a scoff. "We need a place to stay."

Sam rolled his eyes. "He's the one who stabbed you with the screwdriver!"

"What!" Nell jumped out of her thoughts. "We are not going to a guy who stabbed you _with a screwdriver_!"

"We need a place to stay Nell, and... well... he had a fair number of reasons at the time to be stabbing me with a screwdriver." Callen said. "We buried the hatchet... or the screwdriver in this case and he ended up helping me out with a case in the end so..." Callen shrugged. "He'll give us a place to stay and it'll be secure."

Nell kept her glare fixed on him. "What part of _he stabbed you with a screwdriver _are you not understanding?"

"Oh I understand," he said cheekily. He was happy to hear her talking again, so what if it was about something better forgotten. At least she wasn't replaying scenario after scenario in her head thinking about how she could have done things differently. "But like I said, we parted ways on good terms. I think he'll help us."

"You're taking Sam with you. And Kensi... and Deeks... and me when you talk to this guy."

He rolled his eyes but she squeezed his hand and he looked back at her. "Fine," he replied unable to ignore the worry in her eyes. "Since he did stab me with a screwdriver and all."

::

Sam parked the car and everyone got out of the car and headed to the front of a building and Callen knocked hard on it. "Coskun!" He called out, and then in Serbian continued. "I got two grand American. I need a favour." He waited a moment and then seen the blinds move and eyes peek out. Callen smiled and waved.

"Branimir," Coskun stepped out. On the short side of things standing five foot six, balding dark patches of stubborn hair still hung on, long face, pointed nose, beady eyes and a stern looking lips. His Serbian was slurred with liquor but Callen understood. "You little bastard come to my door? I'm going to kill you."

Kensi had her gun out and trained on the man in a second. She knew three Serbian phrases and 'I'm going to kill you' was one of them.

"Calm down Kens," Callen said motioning her to lower her gun. Callen switched back to Serbian. "I know I blew up your car, and broke three windows in the rental apartment but I paid for it all, didn't I?"

Coskun took a long pull off his cigar and proceeded to blow the smoke in Callen's face. Callen took a step back and looked offended before he softened his looks once more. "Come on old friend," his Serbian calm and collected. "I just need a place to stay." He pulled out a wad of American cash. "One night. Just one night, furnished room for my friends and I to sleep. We'll be gone in the morning and you'll be up what you'd make in a month."

Coskun shook his head. "You're a crazy bastard Branimir. Crazy."

Callen shook his head. "You're the crazy one." He changed directions tightening his stance dangerously looming over the smaller man. "You stabbed me with a screwdriver. Now you're going to give me a room. You're going to do it now at half of what I was going to give you."

"Really?" Coskun swayed drunkenly.

Callen sighed. "I don't have time for this." He took a hard swing and knocked Coskun out cold. "I did still owe him for stabbing me." He grabbed the man under the arms and dragged him into his own little apartment. Knowing the place well enough he opened the first drawer and looked at the labels on the keys till he found the one he wanted and headed back out. He put an arm around Nell and knew by the footsteps that the others were following.

"Was that necessary?" Nell asked.

"Clocking the drunk guy?" Callen asked. "Yeah. He won't even remember us in the morning. Trust me. I told him I was going to pay for the car I got blown up on him when he was drunk... next morning he stabbed me with a screwdriver furious that I'd got it blown up." Callen shook his head. "Coskun's a nutty sonovabitch."

::

The apartment was large and spacious. Three rooms, a living room with two couches and a television. The place was set up with wifi and Nell set up her computer and tablet everyone gathering around. Eric's popped up. "Hey guys!"

There was a chorus of 'hey Eric' from the team and he buzzed Hetty up to ops.

"Safe?" Hetty asked once she appeared on screen.

"We're at one of Coskun's apartments."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Really? The dude who stabbed you with a screwdriver?"

"Yes," Callen ran a hand over his short hair in exasperation. "Anything on Granger?"

"The tape was sent to him." Hetty replied. "Likely Pike was unable to locate you and Miss Blye but figured you'd both hear about it from the Assistant Director."

"Which means he knows we are agents," Callen said quietly. "Are we compromised?"

"Depends," Hetty responds. "Are you going to neutralize the threat?"

"Yes." Both Callen and Kensi respond with ease.

"Do it quickly and get home safe. All of you." Hetty let out a sigh. "Get some rest. You'll all need it."

"She's right," Deeks said once Hetty and Eric had signed off. "But I'm starved." He pulled his jacket back on. "Anyone want anything while I go out?"

"I'll come with you," Kensi jumped up. He looked surprised but smiled.

"Anything you find will be good," Sam responded.

"You know those bear crackers? The chocolate ones if they have them," Nell requested and Callen smiled. "What?" She asked when she caught him. "Don't patronise me! They're both cute and delicious."

"I wasn't," Callen put his hands up defensively but the smile wouldn't leave his face.

"Right, we'll be back soon!" Deeks opened the door and held it for Kensi.

"I'm going to go run a bath," Nell announced. She looked to Callen. "Could you knock when Kensi and Deeks return?"

"Yeah, sure." Callen watched as she disappeared into the bathroom. He waited until he could hear the water running before he turned his attention back to Sam. "What the hell were you thinking?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks to everyone who's left such wonderfully encouraging words :) Love and Light!**

RECAP: **Callen watched as she disappeared into the bathroom. He waited until he could hear the water running before he turned his attention back to Sam. "What the hell were you thinking?" **

::

"G," Sam started but Callen wasn't finished.

"I specifically told you to stay with Nell. Why didn't you listen Sam?" Callen was out of his seat and pacing angrily. "She could have been _killed_." The anguish in his partner's voice is like nails in a coffin to Sam.

"The odds were that she would be perfectly fine in that room G!"

"I don't care about the statistics! I care that I gave you an order and you didn't listen to it." Callen's icy gaze locked in place and as he stopped pacing. His body was giving off waves of tension and Sam really hoped that this fight wasn't going to come to fists.

"You are fully prepared to go out and into a mission with out back up," Sam said. "You have no god damned fear. No sense of self-preservation. If not me, then who's going to watch your back Callen? I get why you positioned me with Nell. You wanted her safe, I get it, you love her. But you're my brother G. I couldn't let you walk into a firefight without backup."

Callen was surprised by Sam's words. _'I get it, you love her.'_ Neither Nell nor Callen had spoken the fearful 'L-word' but it didn't seem to matter. Sam could see it. Callen let out a sigh but the tension didn't leave his posture. "I didn't want her coming to Bosnia," Callen said quietly. "Everything goes wrong here." Callen crossed his arms over his chest. "And look what happened." Both were quiet for a long minute. "If you disagree with me on an order Sam, then tell me." Callen's tone was deceitfully calm and Sam knew it spoke volumes to how pissed he really was. "Don't you dare go behind my back like that again," Callen threw a hardened look Sam's way. "I wouldn't forgive you a second time."

The door opened and both agents had their guns drawn and pointed in seconds. Deeks froze with a small paper bag hanging out of his mouth and two larger bags taking up both arms. "Dnf oot.' was all that made it out of his mouth.

"They aren't going to shoot you," Kensi said pushing past him bags filling her arms too. "See, this is why you aren't suppose to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. You buy everything. Everything smelt so delicious."

Deeks dropped the bags on the counter and opened the smaller bag and brought out a bag of Teddy Grams, the chocolate kind. "Found them. I'm an awesome detective."

Kensi laughed and Deeks smiled.

::

The water was a little on the hot side and in the small bathroom it served to fog up the mirrors. She wiped the moisture on the mirror away and stared at her face. It hadn't changed, she didn't have the ruthless eyes of a killer, the posture, the _look_. She stood naked and checked herself over, part of her couldn't believe she hadn't been hit. Then again, she'd fired first.

She sniffled a bit trying to keep a lid on the crying. She'd had enough of it. Logically, she knew it served no purpose. She stepped into the bath and slid down into the water and sighed. The heat soothed her tense muscles and relaxed her.

She'd shot her gun today. Not at a paper target, but at a human being. She had taken the training course when she accepted her position at NCIS. She figured that she might end up brushing elbows with some unsavoury people and knowing the basics of gun training might come in useful, and if nothing else might help her understand the agents better. She didn't want to be the only one in the office unfamiliar or uncomfortable around guns. The training had put her at ease. She could take her gun apart, clean it, put it back to together and fire it with enough accuracy that she was licensed to carry arms.

She had never really thought that she'd ever have to use it. Never thought she'd have to make the choice between life and death. Never thought she'd have to point her gun at a living being and pull the trigger.

But she had.

She bit her lip and breathed through her nose but neither stopped the shuddery inhale and the sob that escaped her lips after. She kicked the tap to put the water back on and prayed no one would hear her as she cried her heart out.

She knew that crying was illogical, but it didn't stop her from having to get it all out of her system. She wondered how the agents managed to deal with it. How they could take a life and then clear the enemy's weapon, check a pulse... and if not dead then try and stop the bleeding, call for help. She had been such a mess, completely unable to function after the threat had been... neutralised. Words to separate you from what you'd just done. She hadn't neutralised a threat. She'd killed a man. And it was eating her alive.

A tap on the door and she froze midway through wiping a tear from her face. "Deeks found Teddy Grams," Callen's voice floats to her. "Their chocolate." She can hear crunching. "Pretty good too."

She moves slightly, the water sloshing against her skin, so warm and comforting. She isn't ready to get out, she doesn't feel like she's done crying and doesn't want the agents to see.

"Nell?" He taps again. "You okay?"

She wants to answer but if she does... he'll hear that she's been crying. "Mhmm." She tries for a sound rather than a word.

She can hear him sigh. "Nell... call me if you need me, or just want company. Okay."

She does, but not yet. She's still working out what happened. She's got control issues. She knows it, everyone she works with knows it. She was put into a situation she had minimal control over... no. She had control. She had told Sam to leave. She had locked the deadbolt and the chain. She had her gun. She had her training. She had a certain measure of control. She had used the control to end another man's life and save her own.

She held her breath and slid down into the water letting it wash away the tears. She came back up and put all the emotions away. There was still a gunman on the loose, not to mention Slavko Pike who was behind it all, and if he had sent the video...

Nell's train of thought broke off and she blamed it on her borderline ADD. The video brought up a whole different bunch of emotions. She was enraged at the man, Slavko Pike, who had pointed a gun so he could... watch. Nell shuddered. It was amazing; the agents ability to persevere, adjust, adapt. She was also weary, the thought of Kensi and Callen together... much less the fact it was documented. She ran both hands over her face.

She knew that she couldn't hid in the tub forever. They could all be compromised, she had a job to do. If nothing else, she could bury herself so deep in work that all these emotions, all these instant-replays in her mind would have to end or be pushed so far back that they wouldn't bother her. She pulled the plug and got out of the tub wrapping a large towel that she found in a closet around her body she poked her head out still dripping wet. "Can someone toss me my bag?"

::

Nell made a beeline once dressed to the work station but Callen grabbed her around the waist. "You're going to bed."

"You're bossy," she said wiggling out of his grasp and dropped into the desk chair. "I'm working. We're going to need a spot to start in the morning and..." Callen's hands on her shoulders and thumbs pressed hard up her spine and she melted a little in her chair. "That feels nice."

"Sam, Kensi and Deeks have already gone to bed."

"We got screwed out of a bed?"

"No, Deeks took the couch." Callen said with a nod of his head and sure enough the detective was on his stomach one arm hanging off the side, one shoe still on his foot the other on the ground. "You need to sleep."

"I need to work," she argued back quietly for Deeks's sake.

He pulled her up out of her seat, ducked, picked her up around the waist and threw her over his shoulder. "You didn't just do that G Callen!" It was hard to be indignant when someone had just thrown you over their shoulder and was now taking the stairs carefully, though if she was looking for the silver lining he did fill out his jeans nicely. "Do not drop me," she said a little worriedly.

"I won't," Callen assured setting her back on her feet inside of a attic bedroom. He shut the door behind them and on a second thought locked it. "I don't trust that Deeks won't find a marker." He said when she looked at the doorknob.

"I need to work G." She said.

"No," he whispered pushing some of her still wet hair out of her face. "You need rest. You need Teddy Grams." He motioned his head to where the bag sat on the night stand. "You need to scream, or cry or be angry or... something. You need Nate." Nell turned her face away from his but he caught her jaw in his hands. "It's not easy Nell, and I still wake up remembering faces and bloodstains. Burying yourself in work will be temporary and it won't deal with any of it. It's not going to help you Nell."

She swallowed hard. "Then what do I do, G?" She asked her voice as shaky as her hands. "What do I do?"

"You let everyone else pick you up." He did just that and dropped her down on the bed and threw her the bag of Teddy Grams. "You know that you did what you had to, to survive. You're one of the good guys."

"Am I?"

"Am I?" Callen repeated the question and arched an eyebrow.

"That isn't fair."

"Isn't it?"

"Stop that," Nell fiddled with the bag zipper before she got it open. She popped one in her mouth and chewed contently for a second. "You... all the agents... you guys don't seem so... affected." She looked at him and frowned. "I feel like a mess. I was a mess. I don't know what would have happened if the second gunman had come back... I'm not even sure how many bullets I had left." She let out a sigh and looked into the bag like it held the answers of the universe.

"We've had training. We expect it. We're trained to react and not think about the body that will be left in the wake of our actions. We do it for the citizens, to protect and serve our country." Callen gave a shrug. "We can give ourselves a million and one reasons but it's not going to make taking a life easy. If it is...than we'd be on the other side of this war."

She put the bag aside and bit her lip quiet for a long moment not minding that Callen was studying every little thing she did. Finally she stood up and started stripping down for bed. "The doors locked right?"

"Umm... sorry what?" Callen responded a smile forming on his face and she smiled back feeling a little more... alive again.

"The door. Is it locked?"

"Yes."

"Good," she sat down on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him.

She was alive. That was what mattered. The fact that she had killed someone in self-defence was always going to stick with her, but she knew she was strong enough to pull through it. And whenever she had a weak moment, she knew just like Callen said, someone would be there to catch her and pull her back up.

She sat back a bit and Callen studied her curiously for a second before holding her tightly as he stood. She let out a shrill shriek and instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. He pushed back the blankets, dropped her underneath of them and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

A kiss brushed her forehead and he sat down on the bed beside her. His hand moved through her hair and he studied her face. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you," he whispers to her in such a unfamiliar sad tone she grabs him and pulls him to lay down beside her.

He shucks off his jeans and slides in under the blankets. She moves pushing up his shirt wishing for skin to skin contact. He seems to understand the silent needs and ditches the rest of his clothing. They stay in an embrace for a long while, neither needing more than to hold the other in reassurance that the other is there, and alive.

::

The next morning was chilly and the heat seemed not to be running in the apartment. Kensi came out of the room feeling little guilty when she saw Deeks. He was snoring his head at an awkward angle resting on the armrest. His arm was over the side and his hand was bent against the cold floor, both spoke surely of aches and pains for the day. She noted he'd only managed to get one shoe off before he clocked out.

She watched him sleep for a minute, he looked vulnerable and she reckoned this would be the fourth day without a shave... or a trim, he always seemed to have facial hair- probably since if he shaved it all off he'd look absurdly young. She blamed that on the fluffy blonde hair and far to deceitfully innocent blue eyes.

Kensi crouched down in front of him and poked his shoulder and when he continued to snore she did it again. His eyebrows drew close and his nose pinched up, he pouted. "Stop it."

"I'm going to make breakfast," she singsonged temptingly.

"Breakfast?" He whispered back dreamily. "I like breakfast."

"You want bacon?"

"Of course," he responded, his eyes still closed but he seemed far happier now that she wasn't poking him.

"What about eggs?"

"They go well with bacon."

She smiled. "True. Want to get your ass of the couch and help me?"

He sighed. "I guess so." He moved slowly, rolling over before sitting up. He gingerly moved the hand that had been bent awkwardly against the hardwood all night. He rotated his neck slowly and she heard a vertebrae snap, he whined. "Everything hurts." He rubbed his eyes clear and looked at her, she smiled up at him. "Morning Kensi."

"Morning Marty."

"Can you please learn to share next time?" Deeks whined standing before bending over to touch the floor, she swore every single bone in his spine snapped on the way.

"That's gross."

"What sharing a bed with me, or the fact my back is all messed up from sleeping on the couch?" He asked rotating his neck again, he figured it was nothing an ibuprofen and a coffee wouldn't fix.

She grinned. "Both."

He glared at her but she hip checked him playfully so he wasn't too bothered. She seemed to be in good spirits all things considered as they entered the kitchen together. She already everything they needed sitting out, she'd found a couple of large frying pans and had cleaned them not knowing how long they'd been sitting there. "I remember when you cooked for me before," Deeks said. It hadn't been so long ago when he'd been working a joint operation with Interpol and Kensi had been put in since operatives were being killed off in their homes. "I didn't get to have more than a few pieces of bacon."

"Well this time you can have eggs," Kensi replied. "And toast too."

"My lucky day," he responded as they got to work. He took over the bacon while Kensi whisked. Bacon sizzled and oil spit up. "Sonovabitch!" He cried out shaking his hand back and forth quickly.

"Under the tap!" She nearly yelled at him.

"It'll be fine," he muttered.

She dropped the whisk in the bowl and grabbed his arm forcing it under the sink and putting the water on cold. "Don't be all macho, the heat will get in and it'll bother you for days." Deeks was smiling when she looked over at him. "What?"

"If you're cute when you're homicidally angry, you're absolutely adorable when you're all sweet and caring." He responded kissing her cheek.

She wasn't sure what to do, she just stood their dumbstruck staring blankly at him.

"The bacon is going to burn," he told her and she realized she was still holding onto his arm. She let go quickly and he walked calm as ever to take the bacon out. Perplexed she returned to making scrambled eggs.

::

"I smelt bacon." Sam said.

"There is coffee too," Deeks said temptingly.

"There is a God," Sam replied pulling down a mug and pouring some dark brew. He looked out the window rain was coming down in sheets. "Looks miserable."

"It's Bosnia," Callen said. "If it can get worse, expect it to."

"Nell okay?" Kensi asked.

Callen shrugged and looked over his shoulder. He found Nell was getting to be as sneaky as Hetty and Hetty had this way of showing up whenever you talked about her. "It's not easy for her. She's working through it though, I think she just needs time."

"It's understandable," Deeks said. "I think everyone goes through that the first time they actually have to use their gun. You realize when you get the gun you might have to pull the trigger on someone one day... but, I guess you don't really think that day will ever come, it just... sneaks up on you."

Callen stared at him for a minute before looking accusingly at Kensi. "When did you trade him in for Dr Phil."

"Ha ha," Deeks responded dryly but was rather happy that Callen was actually trying for humour. Both Callen and Kensi had been so tense, and it had him worried. Deeks was well aware of his 'new guy' status and he knew he was LAPD, a loan out to NCIS but... the agents had not only grown on him but had somewhere along the way become friends, and more than that vital to Deeks.

What had happened all those years ago between Kensi and Callen... Deeks could see the way it still haunted them, but somehow they'd managed to push past it, managed to work together afterward. To have that kind of trust in one another was admirable. Still, he could see the strain that being back in Bosnia put on them both. He worried and when he was worried he watched, as he was doing now. Callen looked like he had slept okay, but Deeks had heard of the man's insomnia and could tell he hadn't actually slept from the dark circles under the elder agents eyes. Kensi was chipper. Too chipper. She was trying to hard, but it seemed better to let her move around, cook, and banter back and forth with him than to talk about it all. If that was what she needed, than that was what he would give.

Sam passed Callen a coffee to which the agent took. The younger duo watched and looked to each other, apparently the passing of coffee was enough to signify the end of the fight. Callen took a drink and made a face. "No sugar?"

"None." Sam replied.

Both senior agents glared at the younger ones. "Hey! I was worried about Teddy Grams!" Deeks defended. "I hate black coffee, but I'll drink it anyways." As if to prove a point he took a deep gulp from his own mug. "All that matters is the caffeine."

Callen looked at all the food the younger agents had made. "I should wake Nell. I feel bad though, she fell asleep only a couple hours ago."

"I figure that means you didn't sleep at all," Sam inquired.

"I don't need sleep," Callen insisted taking another deep gulp of coffee walking back toward the stairs.

Once out of sight Deeks piped in. "I think he's a robot."

Sam smirked and shook his head.

::

With breakfast eaten and the dishes done everyone got to work. Nell was working with Eric for a starting point, Kensi and Deeks had moved the couches in the front room and were sparing and Sam and Callen sat at the kitchen table cleaning the guns.

"I'm fine Eric."

"I didn't even say anything."

"You didn't have to," Nell responded. "You keep looking at me." She sighed and looked over at the tablet where her friend's concern was written all over his face. "Just... find this guy so I can leave Bosnia and come home."

Eric gave a quick nod and both got to work. Nell found something first. "Guys, you might want to come and take a look at this."

A sweaty Deeks and Kensi filed in on the right, Sam and Callen on the left. "What do you got Nell?" Callen asked.

"Slavko Pike, there are some old arrest records, and plenty of criminals have turned on him to the cops."

"That says something," Deeks broke in. "Professional criminals hate cops, never talk to cops, they all know it's like a rule. When they'll talk about a guy, it means they got a serious hate on."

"Well it seems he's moved plenty of arms deals, cancelled, welched on agreements. He's a professional at screwing people over." Nell said. "He has a small group of people who work for him. He mostly hires people who can be blackmailed. One of his current known associates is a..." She breathed in and out a few times to steady herself. "Izt Haris." The man's face popped up on her laptop and they all recognized him as the second man that had been bashing down the door to Nell's hotel room. The one who had run away. "He has a mistress on the side. His wife is wealthy, supports his flashy cars and cocaine addiction. She finds out about the mistress, he's out of cash and his extravagant lifestyle is ended."

"Maybe we can get this guy to flip on Pike," Kensi said.

Nell's hands moved with experience over the keyboard. "Got the address under his wife's name."

"Sam, Deeks go check it out." Callen ordered.

"Wha?" Deeks looked surprised. "Hunter tried that once. Didn't work so well. No offence."

"None taken." Sam replied.

"Deeks," Callen pointed. "Shower. Sam, go get another car."

"What are you planning G?" Sam demanded.

"Do you trust me? Or not?" Callen wanted to know.

"Of course I do."

"Then go."

Sam didn't like it much, but he left the large apartment and went out into the rain in search of a secondary vehicle.


	14. Chapter 14

RECAP: **Sam didn't like it much, but he left the large apartment and went out into the rain in search of a secondary vehicle. **

::

"So... this is weird." Deeks said as he sat in the passenger seat of the car Sam had stolen, it was a compact car but at least he could adjust the seat for some leg room. The two men couldn't be more different if they tried, and working together hadn't been so harmonious the first time. Not that they couldn't work together, they were on the same team after all but they had their own partnerships they worked well in, and you don't change what works. "You speak Serbian?"

"Nope," Sam replied his eyes flicking over to the GPS and back to the road.

"Croatian?"

"Nope."

"Bosnian."

Sam took a hand from the wheel and rocked it back and forth in a 'so-so' gesture.

"Awesome," Deeks accompanied the word with a eye roll.

"Oh this coming from the guy with no multi-language skills."

"Hey!" Deeks responded on the defence. "I know a bit of Spanish."

"Did you learn it from? Dora the Explorer?" Sam dug with a smile.

"Go Diego Go." Deeks returned in good humour.

Sam laughed. "Figures." Sam looked at the GPS and under it's guidance took a right. "You got to start learning another language, you should start before Hetty puts you into a class. She'll pick out something like... Latin." He scoffed. "Good luck with that one. And it's basically useless to us as agents."

"So what would you suggest?"

Sam was a little surprised that Deeks was even asking him for advice but the blue eyed man just kept staring waiting for an answer. "Were you replaced with Dr Phil?"

"No." Deeks's eyes narrowed. "I'm just worried," Deeks replied. "About Kensi... and even Callen. They seem edgy...well edgier than usual. Those two are wound pretty tight to begin with." Deeks should have known that his behaviour would be picked apart by the agents, the were _agents _after all.

Sam nodded, he could understand the worry but chose not to get into the emotional stuff with the detective. They were men, and men didn't talk about feelings with other men. "Spanish." Sam advised. "You have some of the basics and it's the second official language of the good ol' USA, it's always good to know. The more languages you know the easier it becomes to learn others." Sam took a look around, from what Nell had told them they looked to be in the right neighbourhood with all the expensive homes. "Here it is," Sam checked the address once more and pulled to the side of the road.

The two men stepped out of the car and were immediately drenched in the rain. "This place is miserable," Deeks muttered and let out a accepting sigh, his shoulders slumping.

"Come on," Sam responded moving quickly up the stairs and getting under the sheltered porch to the house. "Move it, Deeks."

Deeks walked with out much enthusiasm through the rain and came to stand beside Sam. "Why did he send us?"

"Huh?"

"Callen," Deeks elaborated. "Callen sent...us." He motioned to both himself and Sam several times. "Why? Why didn't he send Kensi and I? Or why didn't he go with you?"

"I'm not questioning it." He'd angered Callen enough for one mission.

Deeks sighed. "I have a terrible feeling about this." He looked around and peeked through a window as Sam knocked on the door. "We have partners for a reason." Deeks said looking for any movement inside of the house. "I know how many seconds it takes for Kensi to reload her gun. I know that she's aggressive in a firefight and will expect me to cover her ass. I... I can predict how she's going to react in any given situation." Deeks looked over at Sam. "I don't know how long it takes for you to reload. I don't know how you shoot in a firefight. I don't know what you're going to do in any situation." Deeks frowns.

"I trust that Callen did this for a reason," Sam replied. "Izt is a Bosnian name. Callen doesn't speak Bosnian. I know enough to get by. He likely sent you with me because he's worried about Kensi and wants to keep an eye on her. Everyone knows Kensi only cooks when she has something eating away at her mind."

"Really?" Deeks replied. "I didn't know that."

Sam smiled at the detective. "Hasn't happened much since you've been around."

Deeks smiled at that and jumped a bit when the door opened.

A woman looked them both over and spoke in Bosnian. "Yes?"

Deeks not knowing what she and Sam were saying hung back a bit and watched the body language carefully, listened to the tones of voices. Tones are the same no matter the language.

"We're looking for your husband, Izt." Sam replied in Bosnian, he hoped he got it right.

She raised an eyebrow and studied him once more. "Your Bosnian is terrible. Where did you meet my husband?"

"He just came into some money," Sam said. "We are here to deliver a cheque."

Her eyebrows shot up a bit. "One moment." She called out her husbands name and the man from the footage was suddenly before them.

He stepped out and shut the door on his wife, he studied the two of them. "Bullshit," he said in English.

Deeks took out his gun and held it at his side. Izt took immediate notice. "Bullshit indeed." Deeks smiled. "We need to have a little chat."

"About what?"

"Slavko Pike," Sam said an the man looked at him in fear. "You came to a hotel today, with a gun to a room our friend was staying in." Deeks cocked his gun the sound echoing in the enclosing and Izt swallowed hard. Sam before this couldn't imagine Deeks playing the 'bad cop' but the rain had darkened the blonde hair and had it hanging down sticking in bits to his face. The leather jacket was certainly helping the vibe, so did the mean set to his face. Sam had to hand it to the detective, he was doing a respectable job at intimidating this guy, seemingly more so at the moment that the hulking size of Sam.

"I'm not going to sell out Pike." Izt said. "You have... you have no idea what he will do."

Deeks smile took a dangerous edge, more of a smirk than anything and it held no humour. "I could think of a few things."

Izt swallowed hard. "You cops? Listen. I have my wife to think of man, you don't know what Pike is capable of."

Sam and Deeks shared a look. Yes they did. They'd seen it in their partners eyes, they'd heard of the horrors. Both men turned their attention back to Izt. "Look, we have no interest in taking Pike into custody." Sam said.

"We will ensure he's... no longer your problem." Deeks said miming shooting a gun at Izt's head with his clear hand.

"No one wins against Slavko Pike. He's always stacked the deck. He doesn't go to a meet unless he knows he can win." Izt insisted.

"Call it... unfinished business he has with some colleagues of ours. We've been invited to play a hand." Deeks said. It wasn't hard to get into the mind set of the bad cop. Not this time. Usually he played the good cop, the listener, the one who understood and wanted to help. The anger at what had been done to his partner, given it was long before he had met her- that didn't matter, the anger was there all the same. Slavko Pike was going to get the death sentence. "You're going to tell us where Pike is."

"No," Izt responded. "I'm not."

"Then I guess I'll have to tell your wife about Isabelle. Your little Italian lover. You meet up with her at the-"

"Shhht!" Izt shoved Deeks.

Deeks quickly responded by shoving both arms back and shoving the man against the wall with his forearm and pointing the gun to his head. "You little shit!" Deeks kept his voice quiet but his tone dangerous.

Sam was a little worried, he knew what to expect from Callen, but he wasn't sure if Deeks had completely lost it and vaguely wondered if he should step in.

"You're going to tell us, or Slavko Pike isn't going to be a problem," Deeks said with a cold sneer. "Your wife cleaning your blood off this wall will be."

"You're nuts man."

"Just think, all you got to do is tell me where Pike is. That's it. Then Pike is no longer your problem." Deeks was trying to keep from pulling the trigger. This guy was a user, he worked for Pike and alone neither of these things would make Deeks want to pull the trigger. The fact that this man had come into a room with his gun and pointed it at Nell... that made him want to pull the trigger.

Izt looked frightened as he looked at Deeks and then to Sam. "Your friend is nuts."

Sam shrugged. "Currently, that's your problem."

"Fine." Izt said realizing he'd get no help from Sam. "He... he has a place down Novopazarska. It's above coffee shop, but the shop is a front, he sells cocaine from it."

Deeks smiled but it didn't hold humour, he let go and backed off. He thought about it for about a second before raising his gun and shooting just left of his head. Izt jumped and looked as though he nearly pissed himself. "You ever go near my friend again, it'll be another two inches to the right."

"We got to go," Sam ordered. "Get in your house and don't tell Sarajavo PD about this."

"Or we'll tell them about your little coke addiction," Deeks said with a smile.

"You're a crazy sonovabitch." Izt said nearly tripping over himself to get into the house and out of harms way.

The two men moved swiftly through the rain and got situated back inside of the car. "What the hell was that!" Sam wanted to know starting the engine and merging into the light traffic.

"He could have killed Nell. She's scared, she was forced to take a life. He deserves to be scared too," Deeks said looking moodily out the window.

"That isn't our call."

"When in Rome," Deeks muttered.

"We're in Bosnia," Sam reminded.

Deeks shrugged his shoulders. "Then I should have shot him."

::

Nell was still searching for answers and was deep in her work so Callen let her be not wanting to be a distraction. He went to Kensi who, fresh from the shower was sitting on the couch braiding her still wet hair. "You okay?" He asked.

She looked up, her hands still awkwardly behind her head. "Yeah," she fumbled and dropped some of her hair. She let out a sigh and shook it out and started parting it in thirds again. "I'm fine."

"Bullshit," Callen called as he sat down facing her on the couch. "You cooked."

"Deeks and I cooked," Kensi corrected like it made a difference. "We all had to eat. It made sense to cook a bunch."

"You cook when there is something bothering you." Callen said and she grabbed the wrong bunch of hair and screwed her braid up, again she shook it out. He scooted closer turned her by the shoulders and grabbed her hair. "Let me do it." He said parting the locks.

"You can braid?" Kensi sounded surprised and Nell looked over curiously.

"I had many, many little sisters in foster care," Callen explained. "Of course I know how to braid. You want pigtails? I can do those too."

Kensi laughed and Callen felt some of the tension melt away with the sound. "No," she replied. "I'll leave the pigtails to the six year olds of the world."

He wove her hair and held a hand out over her shoulder and she handed him her elastic. He twisted it around and then sat back. "Done." He studied her again. "Scared?" he whispered, while she might admit such a thing to him, he thought it unlikely that she'd want the Intelligence Analyst to overhear.

Kensi's lips drew tightly together, she shook her head. They sat quietly for a minute before she looked over at him. "I screwed up here, a lot. I've carried guilt from this place for years. It's always there, in the back of my head. We..." Kensi dropped off. She had slept with Callen while other men watched. She swallowed bile. "I've..." She couldn't find the words. "Having it all out on the table... it kind of helped. I think at the very least it was a step forward." Kensi shrugged. "I feel like... I feel like I'm that green agent again," she looked over at Callen. "I don't want to disappoint you, and I don't want to disappoint myself. I can't screw up this time G. I..." she sighed. "I just want this to be over. Once and for all."

"You and me both."

Kensi looked over at him and studied his blue eyes. "You okay?" She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Who am I kidding, of course you are. You have like... kevlar on your feelings."

Callen's eyes went down to his hands for a second and then went over his shoulders and watched Nell working away for a few seconds. He turned back to Kensi. "I've had to retell everything that happened to us in this God forsaken place to the people in this world I care most about. I have a partner who disobeyed a direct order so that pretty much says he doesn't trust my decisions. Nell just had to shoot a man and could have been killed. We are staying in a place owned by a man who stabbed me with a screwdriver. I am far from being okay, I'm just better at faking it than most."

Kensi hit his shoulder with her own. "We're a sorry bunch."

"That we are." Callen agreed sadly.

The door opened and Callen stood grabbing for his gun but leaving it holstered when he realized it was Sam and Deeks. "We know where Pike is," Sam announced wiping beads of rain from the top of his head. Deeks shook his head and Sam shoved him away. "Seriously? He's like a mutt. Leave the strays on the street Kensi."

Kensi shot him a glare and moved closer to her partner. "So where is he?"

"Nomo-pos-arski? Novo-patka?" Deeks attempted.

"Novopazarska." Sam cut in before he further butchered the street name. "Lives above the coffee shop."

"The coffee shop is a front though," Deeks said. "For the purchasing of Cocaine. Likely to be plenty of guns in the area, and plenty of guys who will want to protect Pike."

"So how we going to do this?" Kensi asked.

"Deeks," Callen looked to the detective. "How are you at playing a junkie?"

"I'm an LAPD undercover," Deeks said with a look like the answer should be obvious. "That's my gig four nights a week."

"Do it. Try and see who the players are, and how deep their loyalties to Pike are. Sam sick around incase he is either compromised or otherwise in trouble."

Sam and Deeks looked to each other. Deeks sighed.

"And what are you three going to do?" Sam asked.

"Nell's going to continue searching for anything that might help us. Kensi can't go with you due to the fact that Pike knows her face and could spot her, so she's staying here. And I'm going to make sure no one comes through that door." Callen glared hard at Sam. "Problem?"

"No." Sam replied.

"Good. Get to work."

::

Deeks shrugged his jacket off in the car despite being cold. He looked across the street at the coffee shop. "Sometimes I hate my job," Deeks muttered knowing the expensive jacket wouldn't be something a junkie would wear. He looked to the sky, the clouds gave no sign of letting up the barrage of rain. "I miss LA!" Deeks whined. He dug in his pants and found a few hundred. Holding it in his hand he watched the front of the shop. "Two guys standing and talking out front, I bet they're carrying."

"It's likely," Sam responded.

Deeks snapped his neck. "Lets get this over with. I want to go home." He opened the door and walked down the street the rain soaking through his cotton short sleeved blue shirt and it clung to him like a second skin. Likely now would be the time he'd say something to Kensi about her not being able to keep her eyes off him, and she'd say something witty back and the banter would keep his mind off how cold he was. Unfortunately Sam was the one on the other end of his ear piece, and while the man might have running banter with Callen, Sam and Deeks didn't.

He was grateful the coffee shop was heated well and he nearly sighed at the blast of heat when he opened the door. "Three," he said softly, the number of customers. "Two," the number of people behind the counter.

The man spoke to Deeks, but the language was unidentifiable to him. Yeah, send the guy with no multi-lingual skills to do the job. Brilliant. Still Deeks knew Callen was counting on him to be the master of bullshit that he was. "English." Deeks said. "You speak English." His body twitched a bit and he felt himself move with the jitters of an addict like second nature. Withdrawal, understood in all languages. "Come on man, English?"

The man pointed to the coffee pot while saying something, Deeks presumed the man was asking if he wanted to order some.

"No, not coffee,"Deeks moved closer to the counter and leaned in lowering his voice. "Coke. You got some?"

The man pulled a red can of Coke-a-Cola out from a fridge and Deeks glared angrily. "No not pop!" Deeks rolled up a fifty dollar Marka and mimed snorting a line. "Cocaine!"

The man behind the counter glared at him but looked around to see if anyone else saw. He put up the universal signal for one second and disappeared into the back. He came back with three more men and Deeks noticed the two that had been at the door were now turning the open sign around and were guarding it.

Deeks turned back around and froze.

One of the three new men in the room was Slavko Pike.


	15. Chapter 15

**Only one more chapter after this left! **

RECAP:_**The man behind the counter glared at him but looked around to see if anyone else saw. He put up the universal signal for one second and disappeared into the back. He came back with three more men and Deeks noticed the two that had been at the door were now turning the open sign around and were guarding it. **_

_**Deeks turned back around and froze. One of the three new men in the room was Slavko Pike.**_

::

Sam could tell from the car something big was happening inside the coffee shop. The two men who had been talking outside of the doors became tense, altered their poses and stood like guards in front of the door and turned the sign from open to closed. The blinds fell down over the windows and were twisted not to let in any light.

Deeks was still inside. Sam let out a few curses as he dug his phone out of his jacket pocket and called Callen.

"What do you got Sam?" Callen asked.

"They just shut down the coffee shop, Deeks is inside."

Callen was quiet a minute. "Think he's compromised?"

"Possibly."

"In danger?"

"Definitely."

Sam had to give it to his partner, the man could curse your ear off in such a way it was nearly an art form. "Alright." Callen said finally and Sam could practically hear the cogs in the lead agent's mind clicking. "Kensi, Nell and I are coming in the Buick." Callen said and Sam could hear the rustle of something, presumably Callen putting on his coat. "Can you see anything?"

"No," Sam replied. "They closed the blinds... a light just went on in the apartment above though." Sam pulled binoculars out of his bag and turned back toward the building in time to see the blinds fall there too. "They shut the blinds. Shit."

Callen let out a frustrated sound. "Bosnia!" He said the word like it was a curse in and of itself. There sigh over the phone was infused with static. "If you think you need to go in, do it."

"Trusting my judgement?" Sam asked tensely.

Sam could hear the engine of the Buick roaring to life. "Don't I always?" Callen said at last. "Keep Deeks safe. Be there in fifteen."

::

"English!" Deeks said again not trying very hard to get out of the two men's grasps. They flanked him on either side and if he got away there was another one behind them and another two in front. There was outnumbered with a chance that maybe you can get away... then there was outnumbered and not having a snowballs chance in hell. Deeks happened to fall into the second category. Especially since they had found his ear piece and had tossed it into the coffee.

"You came with them," Slavko turns on the light in the apartment above the coffee shop where Deeks is standing in a room with Slavko Pike and four of his goons. With the lights, Pike's words make sense. In the dark, 'them' could have been anyone. In the light the pictures on the wall were impossible to ignore. Still shots from the video plastered the wall, various stages of undress and Deeks seen far more than he would have ever wanted to. Kensi, sure he'd seen Kensi in bikini's for covers before but seeing her like that had his temper burning.

Gordon John Brandel was a mean sonovabitch.

Martin Deeks could give his old man a run for his money once his temper got fuming.

"You're a sick dog," Deeks said coldly the 'nice guy Deeks' falling away like any number of other alias's he used. "You need to be put down."

Pike turned his head and looked to the goons and said something Deeks didn't understand. The men tried to move him, but Deeks snapped, one foot going for a mule kick to the shin had one man loosen his grip enough for Deeks to get an arm free and he threw a hard left hook dropping the second guy. The other two grabbed hold of him and the first two that might have their aches and pains got back up. Deeks fought a losing battle as he kicked, threw punches where he could and even bit one of them, none of his efforts kept them from tying him down to a chair.

"Where are they?" Slavko asked him as he got right into his face and Deeks could smell his repugnant breath.

With out being able to kick or punch, Deeks did the only thing he could do. He spat in the man's face. "Burn in hell."

Slavko wiped his face and backhanded Deeks before speaking to one of the men in a language beyond Deeks's comprehension. The men tied a mean rope because Deeks couldn't get anywhere and he was trying his damnedest to pull his arms out but the ropes were surely causing his skin to rash and break open, but he didn't feel pain, he felt desperation.

A needle was procured and placed in Slavko's hand. "You have got to be kidding me," Deeks muttered to himself.

"Tell me now." Slavko ordered placing the needle at the joint of his elbow.

Deeks accepted the inevitable but couldn't resist one last barb as he looked up at Slavko. "They're going to kill you."

The needle went in and the cocaine mixed into his system. Deeks being a detective on the LAPD knew plenty about drugs, especially cocaine since there was so much of it on the streets. The euphoric effect was expected as he rode the high, he knew his heartbeat was accelerated, he bet his pupils were dilated. Anxiety skyrocketed and he was incredibly alert.

Slavko got into his face again. "High enough?

Deeks figured he'd already been given a high dose, and considering he'd never used in his life he wasn't sure how much he could take before overdosing. He looked at the second needle in Slavko's hand and wondered how his heart wasn't jumping right out of it's confines.

"Tell me," Slavko whispered. "Tell me where the girl is."

Deeks tried to pull from the bindings and Slavko injected him again. The detective part of him knew that using constantly within a short time span could cause all sorts of problems but... the world was a little different now. The room seemed to be spinning. The pictures blurring and then coming into an awful sharp focus. Slavko, the men in the room watching waiting, shooting themselves up with the cocaine. Sam? He'd get help.

Deeks tripped over his own words as the third needle pierced his skin, he couldn't even string an insult together. He smiled as the euphoric effects took over his body and his mind, he became liquid in the chair.

"Tell me where the girl is!" Slavko yelled in his face.

Deeks could hear Kensi's laughter in his ear, so close he turned to it but she wasn't there. He tried to focus. Cocaine can cause auditory hallucinations?

"Fuck off," Deeks managed to get the two words from his brain to his mouth. He was growing restless and it felt as if his skin was crawling. He needed to get out of his bindings, he needed to move, needed to run, needed to fight.

Slavko shook Deeks by the shoulders but then Slavko's face was then his fathers, and then Slavko's again. "The girl!" He shouted but the voice was his fathers and it send ice through his veins. "Where is she?" The voice of Gordon John Brandel made Deeks feet like a child again.

"Who?" Deeks asked as he shook his head trying to think clearly through the drug but his heartbeat was drumming so loud he couldn't hear his own thoughts.

"Her!" Slavko ripped down the nearest picture and thrust it into Deeks's face. "Where is she?"

In the image was of both of his coworkers completely stripped down and pressed together, but Kensi's face was toward the camera, her eyes shut tight. "Kensi," Deeks whispered wistfully a smile on his face.

"Yes, where is the girl?" Slavko asked.

Deeks looked warily at the needle that was still threateningly in Slavko's hand. Kensi was his partner. He couldn't tell that man where his partner was. Not now. Not ever. Especially after what Slavko had done to her and Callen.

His entire body was shaking, skin quivering, his wrists raw with trying to get out of the bindings. He couldn't tell Slavko anything, he wouldn't.

"You know," Deeks said stalling for time. _Where is Sam? _He thought. _Sam is outside, surely by now he knows something is wrong, surely Sam knows I'm in over my head... right? _Despite the worry in his thoughts, it doesn't show up in his voice. "She practices shooting for the gonads... fifty's riding it's where she shoots you."

Slavko punched him hard in the face. Deeks only knew it was a good blow because of how his neck cracked with the force. He didn't feel a thing. The needle lined up and Deeks wondered how many more shots he could take before he overdosed.

::

Sam got out of the car and realized quickly he had many hurdles between himself and Deeks. First the two guards at the front door. Then having to go up a flight of stairs, it was dangerous going up stairs, you're stuck in a confined space, little to no cover. He was unsure as to just how many people there were on the inside. Deeks had told him two behind the counter, three customers... the customers were now lingering outside wondering what was going on. Sam had heard a slight scuffle from Deeks's earwig and then the static of it being fried.

Callen and Kensi would take fifteen minutes to get there, thirteen now- nine since Sam figured Callen would break every traffic law on his way over.

Sam wanted Bosnia to be over. With a sigh he started across the street, the two men at the door tensing. "I'm here to see Slavko," Sam said in Bosnian standing straight to his full height. "He's expecting me."

The two men stood silently staring at Sam and he wondered if they even spoke Bosnian. He didn't have the time to be wasting on these guys, but if he drew arms and shot either of them they could kill Deeks. "Slavko Pike," Sam repeated and the two men looked at each other before looking over Sam.

"Guns," the man asked and Sam thought a moment before taking his SIG from it's holster and handing it over. The second man gave Sam a pat down and nodded. The first opened the door and motioned Sam inside.

The guard led him around the service counter, through the back room and stopped at the staircase.

"Where is she?" Sam heard a voice float down stairs, it was angry.

"Kensi," Deeks's voice. Sam sighed a breath of relief as he grabbed the guard and put him into a choke hold.

"Yes!" The angry hard voice accented in Serbian responded. "Where is she?"

"You know." Deeks's voice again. Sam lowered the unconscious guard to the ground and took the man's gun. He took his first step on the stair pointing his gun upwards but could see nothing. "She practices shooting for the gonads... fifty's riding it's where she shoots you." The sound of a solid hit echoed in the stairwell.

A door opens and Sam is quick to turn on his heel but it is Kensi and they both lower their weapons upon recognition.

Behind her is Callen and pressed to his back, with gun in hand is Nell. Callen shot Sam a look that said, 'well what was I suppose to do?'

Sam shrugged in return.

Through a series of hand signals it is determined that they will go in together, Sam take right, Kensi left and Callen the middle.

Nell's hand is a fist bunched in the back of Callen's shirt for a minute but she lets go and checks her gun finding all bullets in place, fully loaded she cocks the gun and one is in the chamber. She nods at Callen. "Stay with me," he whispers. He's use to having Sam's back, but having to watch out for Kensi and Nell too puts his stress level at an all time high. They move up the stairs, Sam first, Kensi close behind and Callen with Nell bringing up the end.

"Tell me where she is!" It's Pikes voice and for a slit second Kensi freezes, Callen's hand on the small of her back urges her forward and she's back in action.

"No."

Kensi can hear her partners laboured breathing as they stand just outside of the door. She's to the left, Sam to the right and Callen and Nell are on the top part of the stairs. She looks to her team mates and nods to Sam who kicks open the door.

Callen moves in first, Kensi just as swift in rounding the corner and taking aim. They both spot Deeks tied to a chair, Slavko right there with him, though the man turns to face them. Surprise and recognition takes over his face for a split second.

Both agents with guns at the ready fire a round to the man's head two shots in the forehead nearly simultaneously and Slavko Pike falls dead.

Sam fires off a shot at one of the other men and both Kensi and Callen are spurned back into action quickly clearing the room. The agents move to clear the guns and check pulses, Kensi despite her need to see her partner remembers how much skipping this step before had cost her.

Nell steped around the bodies and pooling blood, she tried unsuccessfully to ignore the metallic scent of blood in the air as she maked her way to Deeks. "Don't worry Marty," she whispers soothingly as she takes a switchblade from her pocket and starts to saw away at the ropes. "We're going to get you out of here." Fearfully she looks up to his face but his pupils are dilated so much she can hardly see the blue and he's looking around wildly. "Uh oh."

Kensi is at her side in a minute and immediately realizes what Nell had been talking about. Her hands go to either side of Deeks's face and he tries to draw away from her. "You can't have her," he says tauntingly with a crooked grin.

Sam crouches by Slavko Pike, and notes the broken needle that had busted in the fall. He stood and looked Deeks arm. "Four marks," Sam points out. "He's gone."

Nell's knife gets through the bindings on his right arm and she pulls away the rope gently, blood sticking to it.

"It's going to be okay Marty... Martin, look at me," Kensi orders.

Deeks looks at her confused. "You're not here."

"Yes, yes I am."

"No!" Deeks jerks but the bindings keep him stuck and Nell freezes for a moment lowering the knife not wanting to accidentally hurt him. "No, Kensi he's after you. You have to go."

"He's dead." Kensi said. "Slavko Pike is dead."

Deeks looked around, unfocussed until he found the body and stared at it a long moment. He smiled. "You didn't shoot him in the nuts. I thought you would." Deeks smiled and his free hand went to Kensi's hair. "You have pretty hair."

"Oh boy," Kensi muttered. "How much did he have?"

"Too much," Sam replied. "We need to get him to a hospital."

"I'll call Hetty," Callen said taking a step back and pulling out his burn phone.

::

Three days later they were all inside of the hospital in Sarajavo, one Callen remembered well and found it just as unpleasant the second time. He put a coffee in both Kensi and Nell's hands. "I'm going to see if I can find a doctor. Get a status update."

"Thanks Callen," Kensi muttered taking a sip of the hospital coffee.

Nell looked over at the older female agent. "He'll be okay Kensi."

"Hm?" Kensi broke from her own thoughts. "Yeah, yeah, he'll be fine."

"It's over," Nell said watching her friend.

"Yeah," Kensi's voice nothing more than a whisper.

"It's over," Nell repeated knowing Kensi needed to hear it.

Kensi nodded and leaned her head against Nell's shoulder. "Thanks."

"I didn't do anything," Nell replied.

"Yes," Kensi replied patting the younger woman's knee. "You did."

"You guys see G?" Sam asked coming in with more coffee and sandwiches. He pointed to the coffee's in their hands. "Hospital?"

"Yep," Kensi replied forcing herself to sit back up straight. "Hospital coffee tastes like crap no matter where in the world you are."

He put a fresh round down. "Two blocks down, got to be better," Sam said and put down the bag of sandwiches pulling out two and handing one to each Kensi and Nell. "Eat."

"Thanks Sam," Nell said. "G went to find a doctor."

"Hmm," Sam replied. "I'll go find him."

"No need," Kensi said nodding toward the hallway as she stood. "Anything?" She asked Callen, despite having been there three days, the doctors had run some tests on his blood.

"We're lucky that Deeks is six two and all muscle," Callen said looking at the sandwich Sam offered and shaking his head. "His size helped distribute the cocaine, if he were smaller he'd likely have overdosed."

Kensi looked at her sandwich and put it back on the table. "Can I see him?"

"I'll get you in," Callen said, and the two of them walked in tandem down the hall.

Callen, true to his word spoke to the doctor and got Kensi into the room, he shut it behind her and waited out in the hallway.

"Hey you." Kensi said.

"What?" Deeks had gotten increasingly irritable after the cocaine had worn off, but she knew it was to be expected and sat on the side of his bed.

"We're getting you out of here this afternoon," Kensi told him.

"Really?" Deeks was feeling the effects of withdrawal, being a cop, he knew what to expect but it didn't make any of it any easier.

"Yeah, we're flying back home tonight." Kensi said trying to get a smile upon his face. He hadn't smiled since they got him here. "By tomorrow morning you could be on a surfboard, riding the waves."

Deeks shrugged seeming uninterested. "Yeah," he replied, and she felt it was more for her benefit than him actually agreeing. She took his hand in hers and tried to find something to say. "Why are you here?" He asked.

"What?"

"Why are you here?" He repeated. "It's Bosnia." He shook his head. "You could have flown out a couple of nights ago."

"I'm not leaving here without you." She responded with ferocity and she noticed the ever so slight twitch of his lips, the slightest curve upward before it was gone. But it was a start. She ran her thumb over the back of his hand. "You're my partner De...Marty. Partners are there for each other. No matter what."

He sat up a little, put his hand behind her head and kissed her forehead. "Thanks."

A double knock on the door and Callen opened the door, but he didn't poke his head in. "Kens, the doctors need you to sign some release papers for Deeks."

"Yeah," she called back and the door was shut. She turned back to Deeks. "I hate this place," she told him. "And you got me through it, wether you know it or not. Thank you." She smiled just slightly and then left the room.


	16. Chapter 16

**LAST CHAPTER/EPILOGUE: Thanks for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I have loved writing it. **

RECAP: _**"Yeah," she called back and the door was shut. She turned back to Deeks. "I hate this place," she told him. "And you got me through it, wether you know it or not. Thank you." She smiled just slightly and then left the room. **_

::

The team walked into the Office of Special Projects as a unit.

Deeks's wrists were still wrapped up from the damage he'd done trying to pull out of the restraints, he was irritable which was strange for the odd-ball laid-back detective but the team did everything possible to distract him from the withdrawal symptoms.

Nell's perspective on things had changed. She'd been put in harms way, and she knew when push came to shove she could pull the trigger. It didn't stop the nightmares, it didn't stop the sick feeling in her stomach but she could live with it.

Callen felt at odds. Slavko Pike was dead. Both he and Kensi had shot Pike dead. It should be a relief. At the same time he felt a personal sense of failure. Deeks had been drugged for information and was still feeling the effects of that afternoon days after. Nell had been forced to pull the trigger on someone and that didn't sit well with him either. He had an overwhelming need to protect her, and instead, he'd almost lost her.

Sam _really_ hated Bosnia. If there was ever another mission that involved that place he'd bribe Renko with Scotch to take it. Renko appreciated a fine Scotch. He still felt the strain in his partnership with Callen, and it worried Sam. He'd disobeyed Callen's order, and Nell had nearly been killed because of his mistake.

Kensi kept looking over at her partner. He had a stern set to his lips and it was driving her nuts. He didn't smile. After all that had happened the first time in Bosnia, and now getting to finally put a bullet as a period to the sentence ending the entire mess... she thought it would feel finished. _It didn't_. It just awoke new horrors for her to relive. Her partner tied to a chair, high on Cocaine, wrists bloody, lip busted open from a hit, the... lack of him, she could have lost him, he could have overdosed, he could have gone into a coma... he could have died. She noticed he still had that grim look to his face, his entire body tense as they walked past the bullpen.

She pinched his ass.

He jumped and turned to her the slightest smile creeping upon his face. "Can't keep your hands to yourself?" the slightest lilt of humour had her smiling.

"Welcome back," she said her words dipped in double meaning.

He forced the smile to stay a little longer. "Thanks."

"You're back!" Eric merged in with the group and Nell gave him a tight hug. "You good?" She smiled up at him and nodded.

"Agent Callen, Agent Blye. " The entire team turned toward Granger's voice who was standing at the top of the stairs. "A word."

"Come on," he motioned his head.

"All of us?" Sam asked.

"Keeping secrets didn't exactly help us the first time around," Callen said walking toward the stairs and everyone fell in behind him. They all took the stairs and filed into Granger's office.

"I said Callen and Blye."

"Yeah," Callen sat down immediately asserting control over the situation. "But we are a team. Teams stick together."

"Are your really sure you want them here?" Granger asked pulling a DVD from the drawer and placing it on the desk.

Callen eyed it much like a child would eye Brussel sprouts, with deep seeded suspicion. "Slavko Pike is dead." Callen told him forcing his eyes away from the video.

"That doesn't stop this," Granger picked up the plastic case. "From being a problem. He said there were more copies where this one came from."

"There wasn't anything at his place," Callen said.

Granger sighed. "How do you want this handled?"

Callen was a little surprised, Granger managed to keep him off balance. "Incinerate it. All of it."

Granger sat considering a moment before sliding the video over the table and Callen took it. "I didn't see a thing."

Callen figured that was as close to a formal dismissal he was going to get he stood and the team filed out.

::

Kensi and Callen stood in the incinerator room and together put the files, the documents, the images, and the video into the metal container and closed it. They looked at each other for a second.

"It's over," Kensi whispered.

Callen nodded. "Do it."

Kensi reached over and activated the incinerator, paper destroyed, the DVD melted. They both watched until the fire died out and then smiled at each other the weight of Bosnia finally lifted.

::

By the time Sam had finished his reports and gotten home it was well past midnight. He unlocked the door, disabled the alarm, took off his shoes and hung up his coat. He threw his go-bag into the laundry room and locked up his firearm. He made his way through the house in socked feet stopping to check in on Zachary's room first. The young boy woke slightly when the door opened. "Dad?"

"Go back to sleep," Sam said kissing the top of his son's head. "It's late."

"Welcome home," Zachary said softly before a yawn took over and his eyelids grew heavy and drew him back to sleep.

Sam left the door open a crack to the room and went across the hall to his daughter's room. Zoe's room was lightly it by a nightlight with a purple butterfly face to it. He kissed her head and watched her sleep for a minute before he left her room.

He yawned as he entered his own bedroom. "How was your trip?" Michelle asked sleepily as she rolled to her back.

"Hellish," Sam replied stripping off his shirt and pants getting under the sheets. Michelle rolled over and kissed him. They'd been working things out since his amnesia, and now she knew just what it was he did. She wasn't to thrilled with it all, but she understood. "Sorry I wasn't here. I know how hard it is, with the kids and no help from me."

She smiled and he just hardly seen it with the moonlight. "Just... be here when you're home. Okay." He nodded. "Your team okay?"

It was easier now, being able to actually talk to her. "More or less," he replied. "Deeks is still recovering, but... Kensi'll take good care of him."

"They got a little something-something going on," Michelle said with a hint of humour.

Sam shook his head. "Get some sleep Mitch."

She rested her head against his chest. "I've missed you Sam."

"I missed you too."

::

"You can take the bed," Kensi said hospitably.

"I'll take the couch," Deeks said. "Or I could take my bed at home."

"No." Kensi replied sternly, her words emphasised by the wicked glare she was sending him. "You know I can't let you do that."

"Yes you can," Deeks replied irritably.

"You're still in withdrawal," Kensi argued.

"So you don't trust me."

"That isn't what I said," she cut him off before he could go on a rant. "I trust you with my life, just... for me, stay." Her hand pressing flat against his chest and he looked down studying it. "Please," she could hear the plea in her voice. "Please Marty, stay."

"Fine," he muttered. "Got anything to eat?" He asked. "I'm starving."

"Um." Kensi looked toward her kitchen biting her lip before walking over. She opened the fridge and took a step back. "Gross."

Deeks walked over with a grin. "Science fair?"

"Ha ha," she replied dryly. "We were gone for a while okay, some stuff went bad." She closed the fridge deciding it could wait till morning. "I'll order food in. What are you feeling?"

"Pizza," Deeks decided.

"I'll order," Kensi picked up the phone.

"You didn't even ask what I want," Deeks said leaning against the wall.

She looked him over and swallowed hard. "Pepperoni, green peppers, bacon, mushrooms and extra cheese."

Deeks smiled, sometimes someone knowing what you like on your pizza was enough.

Catching his smile Kensi smiled back.

::

"No!" She yelled. "No! No, no, no, no, no!" She turned and glared at him. "You cheated!"

"I didn't cheat," Eric laughed. "I got enough kill shots in a row to activate the dogs."

"It's cheating," Bethany decided as she crossed her arms over her chest, X-Box 360 controller still in hand.

"Is not."

"Is so!" She declared and stuck out her tongue at him. There was a chime from the timer in the kitchen and she dropped the controller on the table, the game and the playful argument forgotten. "Cookies!" They both followed the scent to the kitchen and Bethany put on oven mitts that looked a lot like crab claws. She moved her thumb like a pincher. "Picked these up yesterday, couldn't resist." She pulled out the cookies and put them on top of the stove. "Tada!"

"They look delicious."

"I can't wait for them to cool," Bethany responded jumping foot to foot excitedly.

Despite him showing up at her doorstep at eleven o'clock at night, she'd welcomed him in, she'd put on a game she knew he would like, she baked cookies. He couldn't believe his luck. "Beth?" He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer.

She smiled up at him her body pressed to his. "Yeah Eric?"

He kissed her lightly at first, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and dragged him into a passionate lip lock. When they finally broke he just stared into her eyes. "Thanks."

She smiled. "Anytime."

::

"You should really go home," Callen advised.

"I'm working," Nell responded.

"You're puttering around, you're not working, you're waiting," Callen leaned back a second trying to get the kink out of his neck. "I have more paperwork than the rest of the lot." He looked at the pile of files. "Go home Nell. Get some rest."

Nell frowned and looked at her feet shuffling them nervously. "I don't want to go home alone," she said in a small voice.

He shut his eyes and sighed. He threw his pen in with the rest of it's brethren and turned off his desk light. He grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and looked at her. "Go get your coat."

"What about your paperwork?" She asked.

"I'll do it tomorrow," Callen responded.

It took her a few minutes, but she returned with her go-bag and her coat. They walked out together and took Callen's new white Mercedes back to Nell's apartment.

"I'm sorry," Nell said finally once they got in, and she threw her keys into the bowl in the entrance way, just like she always did. His keys slid down the side of the bowl and clicked with hers, she smiled at the mix.

"About what?" Callen sounded confused as he hung up his jacket.

"I just couldn't face an empty apartment tonight," Nell replied.

He pulled her in by her hips and kissed her neck.

"G," she whispered quietly. "Stay."

More and more lately he'd ended up sleeping at Nell's place, and the request wasn't out of the ordinary. Callen didn't have the incentive to go to the house he owned, Nell wasn't there. He nodded in response and she took his hand leading him toward her bedroom.

::

And finally, the day was over and everyone home safe, a _exhale_ of relief.

::

**Next story in the series will be titled **_**Exhale**_**. **

**Thanks again to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story, I really appreciate it!**


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